


Princess and The Dragons

by NaughtyButWeiss (RWBYRemnants), RWBYRemnants



Category: RWBY
Genre: 1950s, 1950s Slang, Age Difference, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Bikers, Alternate Universe - High School, Bikers, Branding, Cheerleaders, Child Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, High School, No Lesbians Die, Novella, Physical Abuse, Rocky start, Scarification, Sexual Coercion, Underage Drinking, Yuritopia, spousal abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-17 11:10:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 90,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20620061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWBYRemnants/pseuds/NaughtyButWeiss, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWBYRemnants/pseuds/RWBYRemnants
Summary: Poor Weiss Schnee is a paper-shaker at Vale High who has been pampered all her life - and has the stuck up attitude to match. That makes her all the more appealing target for Yang, the leader of the Dragons biker gang. The dangerous life Yang leads is both repulsive and appealing to the sheltered girl, and she gradually finds herself being dragged deeper and deeper into Yang's world. But how deep istoodeep?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS: domestic/child abuse, burning-related injury, occasional smut, minor character death. Some brief incest in the MUCH later chapters. Not affiliated with the similarly-named fanfic by DinasEmrys (which I haven't read, just saw the name when checking to see if the name I liked for this was already taken).
> 
> Welcome to probably THE longest solo project I've ever done! This version of Vale is set in America in the late 1950s, the era of greasers and sock hops - even though I didn’t make a big deal about trying to be SUPER period accurate. The fic does go a little off the rails in the latter half, but not too badly. It's going to be a long and bumpy ride but I hope you'll strap in, I had a LOOOOOT of fun with this one. Enjoy, cats and kittens!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Small note: I hope the new story update went out for everybody, I accidentally submitted this to a moderated group that posted it as "anonymous" but it seems to be fixed now.)

**=Chapter 1**

"Announcing the arrival of Her Majesty, Princess Schnee."

For the fifth time that day, Weiss Schnee tried to walk as fast as she could past the rough girls who hung out in front of locker 134. The  _ Dragons _ , whispers in the cafeteria had informed her. They were always there, always dressed in matching black leather jackets with yellow stripes down the sleeves, and always said uncouth things about most of the “nice girls” in school. She knew they were just ignorant and poor, and clearly had no idea what they were talking about. Her parents had told her as much, and she always trusted her parents. Why would they ever steer her wrong?

However, the stares from the blonde with the vaguely Asian features were different. Sure, the brunette with the flaming eyes and the one in the beret and aviator sunglasses just jeered and flipped her off, yelled things or giggled along with the rest. The amber-eyed vixen blew a cheeky kiss. But the expression of the one with such long, luxurious blonde hair was almost captivated. Obsessed. That look got to her, even if she couldn't figure out why.

"Gonna get you, Schnee," she catcalled again, causing her other four or five associates to burst out laughing. But she wasn't laughing - just grinning darkly. "Gonna get you,  _ get _ you, GET youuuuu..."

"You will not!" Weiss finally snapped. This had been going on for over a week and she had reached her limit. The clique looked vaguely surprised she had spoken up, waiting to hear more. "You'll show me the respect I deserve as a fellow human being, you... you  _ BRUTE!" _

The others started going "WOOOOOO", but the ringleader - Weiss was only guessing, she didn’t know the first thing about gangs - ignored them and walked right up to her, away from the pack. She stood her ground, even though she could feel her heart thudding up into her throat in terror the closer she got.

"You  _ want _ me to be a brute," she growled in a low voice - one for just the two of them. “You like it.”

"No, I… don’t be a pest. I want you to leave me alone.  _ All _ of you!"

"They will. If you let me be a brute to you. Just me."

Blinking, she took a slight step back. "Wh-what on earth are you talking about?! No, I don't want  _ anyone _ to be a brute to me! Go take a long walk off a short pier!"

"Let me. Just once. If you still don't like it... we'll  _ all _ back off." Her index finger flashed out and ran along the scar on Weiss's cheek, just below her left eye. The one mark disfiguring her otherwise-flawless features. "Yang Xiao Long will make you forget whatever put that on your pretty face, baby."

Weiss felt her stomach disappear. Nobody was impolite enough to comment on her scar - usually. The memory that went along with it always made it hard for her to think, or to respond. "You... w-what... I- that's none of your-"

“Great. Meet me after you get outta cheerleading practice. Parking lot. Don't be late or I'll be rougher... unless that's what you want." Then she waved over her shoulder and went back to her friends as they hooted and stomped their feet, clapping her on the back as if she had accomplished something.

Funny thing was, she might really have. As Weiss hurried on to class, she realised she was probably going to do exactly what the Dragon called Yang asked. And she didn't understand why.

* * *

"You came."

All of Weiss's books were pressed to her chest protectively as she glanced around the bustling car park. It was a security blanket measure - a shield that gave her a false sense of safety. "I did. You, um... you said you'd leave me alone if I don't like, um, whatever it is you're going to do, so j-just get it over with."

"Not so fast," the blonde hoodlum said as she sat on her motorcycle. All of her "girls" had one, but the other bikes were gone; she had told them to take off without her, apparently. "Hop on."

"No."

Yang's eyebrows went up. "Little Miss Schnee, what can the matter be?"

"I'm not going  _ anywhere _ with  _ you _ ."

"Ohhhh. You sure about that?" Standing up from the leather saddle of her mechanical steed, she slowly paced around behind Weiss, moving with the languid grace of a wild cat stalking its prey. When she had reached her back, she began pushing gently - it wasn't even hard, or "rough" as she had promised earlier. Just a nudging until she was standing up against the metal frame of the Harley.

"You... have a beautiful bike." Why did she say that? There was absolutely no need for her to compliment that delinquent's motorcycle!

"Pretty great, yeah. Needs one more accessory."

Gulping, she tried to look over her shoulder, but Yang was hovering directly in the blind spot behind her head. "And... what is that?"

Strong hands encircled her waist, lifted her easily into the air - and she did yelp, but it was weak, pathetic. She was ashamed of that yelp, and the next one that came when she felt her butt connecting with a leather seat.

"Got it now; a little paper-shaker with baby blue eyes. Perfect ornament."

The hands weren't leaving her hips. Then other hips were pressing into the backs of hers, cold leather grazing her arms and making her shiver. Hot breath on her neck. Her skin crawled even as her heart pounded and her mouth went dry. 

"Stop," she begged in a whisper.

"I can't, Schnee. Not until I've been your ‘brute’, remember? Then I'm gone if you want me gone." Her face leaned over and she gave her a level, penetrating gaze from inches away. "Unless you can't even handle that much."

Why did she find it so hard to say a simple "no" to this woman? Her lips were speaking before she gave them any commands.

"I can handle whatever you got."

Her mouth split into a grin as she reached forward and gripped the handlebars, revving the engine. "Good. I won't hold back."

They peeled out from the curb, and Weiss felt her heart shooting into her throat. She’d never gone so _fast_ before! Surely this wasn’t safe, and they had no protective gear! But Yang was completely confident behind her, a warm, solid presence. If she wasn’t afraid, then neither was Weiss. Even if she was and just wanted to _appear_ as if she wasn’t. However, there was one question filling her mind: _where were they_ _going?_

* * *

Arriving didn’t answer the question at all. 

"What... is this place?"

"A bar." After killing the engine, her flaxen-haired captor hopped off her bike, then turned to lift Weiss down. Her hands were like hot vice grips, but were gone just as quickly once she set her down.

"Wait, I'm not-  _ we _ are not old enough! To go in there, I mean!"

"Relax," she laughed harshly. "They have food, too - and they don't serve kids booze. Even though I’ve seen Cinder get some under the table before."

Weiss’s heart was pounding as she looked up at the dark brown edifice. Smoky windows, bluesy rock music coming from the walls. A sign that said "Junior's" that flashed in pink neon letters above the door - and other neon signs of various colours advertising brands of alcohol. Never in her life had she come within fifty feet of such a place. Her stomach was a mess of butterflies.

The door opened. Two people came out, kissing. Two MEN. One blonde, and one whose hair was the least natural shade of blue she'd ever seen. And they didn't seem to care that two girls were standing around nearby - ones that weren't old enough to drink as much as they probably had.

"C'mon, we'll grab my usual table."

"Oh... okay." And Weiss found herself stumbling along behind her, trying to keep up.

Inside was worse. Dingy floors, bad lighting, and a powerful smell of liquor. The patrons at the bar were all drunk as skunks with an assortment of empty glasses in front of them. The booths and tables were evenly split between people with food and people without. Yang headed straight for one and plunked down, putting both feet up on the seat opposite her so that Weiss had no choice but to squeeze in next to her on the bench.

"Hey," she purred, looping an arm around her back. Weiss only gulped, and she motioned for the waitress to come over. "Two gut busters and an order of fries. Oh, and what do you want to drink? Scotch and soda?"

"Just a soda," she replied meekly while Yang grinned, amused with herself. She hated hearing herself sound so weak, but the waitress - with her muscled arms and no-nonsense attitude - made her feel like making any sudden moves or speaking out of turn would mean her death. She tried again. "Cherry cola."

"Same," Yang said smoothly. "I like cherries." Her designs on Weiss had to be obvious, but the waitress didn't seem to care - and didn't speak. She just wrote down their orders and went into the back.

"Are… you sure the food is… safe for human consumption?"

"Hey, I've been eating here since I was a half-pint. Never did me any harm."

"That's debatable."

The thug's face twisted into a slight sneer. She leaned closer and closer, eyes heavy-lidded and scowling, breath heaving. For a few seconds, Weiss had no idea what she was going to do - hit her? Kiss her? Shove her onto the floor and tell her she was worthless? All the possibilities played out in her mind, and she hated them all. Or didn't. She couldn't be sure, couldn't be sure of anything.

But then Yang grinned and muttered, "I knew I liked you. Like how you stand up to me. Nobody else at school does. Got spunk, and I like it."

"But I don’t like it, though. This, this…  _ whatever _ this is." Breathing shallow and fast, she ignored the two glasses of soda left at their table and kept going, as if she couldn’t stop the words from spilling out. "And I don't know what's wrong with me, why I'm here with you, I… I  _ loathe _ you! Hate everything about you, that smug face, your 'tough girl' act, ALL of it! I can't stand your existence!"

"Really? Why  _ are _ you here then, if you hate my guts?" Weiss didn't answer, so she leaned in and pressed her lips right up against her ear. Their bodies were so close she could feel the heat pouring off her chest from her low-cut top. "You're curious. And your curiosity is going to get you  _ brute _ -alized."

The emphasis on the first half of "brutalized" worried her a lot less than if there had been no emphasis at all, but she still was sitting there, biting her bottom lip and trying not to cry or run away, trying not to lash out again for fear of what might happen if she did.

"You like that. Right there." Still whispering, she raised her other hand and began to caress Weiss's shoulder. "You need this feeling. The rush. Pampered little princess like you has never had it before anywhere in your life, and I give it to you, and you hate that I'm where you can get it… but you want the rush more than you want to tell me to get lost."

"M-maybe! Maybe I do, but I hate this, and I hate myself for not hating this enough! Why do you even do this to girls? Why  _ me?! _ Y-you… you're too…"

The minute the tears were leaking down her cheeks, even though her face barely changed, Yang's hand came up to cup the back of her head and pull her into her shoulder. Weiss clutched at her back as hard as she could, nails digging into the leather. She was surprised at herself for not pushing Yang away - what was the  _ matter _ with her?

"Alright. Alright, nobody's really hurting you. You're fine. Sorry if I pushed too hard."

"You did! You wanted me to  _ break!" _

"Not break. Just... break on through to the other side. The  _ wild _ side." Pulling back, she wiped the tears away with one thumb - as if she'd done it before. Maybe many times. "Sometimes, you gotta push through the pain to get to the good stuff. Nothing worth having comes for free, right?"

Somehow, even though the "sorry" had seemed insincere at first, the piercing nature of her violet eyes and the way she wasn't blinking, wasn't looking away as she soothed her with well-placed words, convinced Weiss that she might really mean what she said. And the heart in her throat was telling her to trust that. To trust  _ her _ .

"Really?" Sniffling and hating how she sounded, she shrugged and asked, "What kind of good stuff?"

"Later," she chuckled provocatively. Then her expression softened the slightest amount as she said, "But I bet you're starting to feel better right about... **now**."

Against all sanity, she was. The brief moment of crying and confrontation had made her a lot less fearful, less ready to snap. She still wasn't sure if she should actually trust a girl like Yang, but she no longer wanted to run screaming to the bathroom and sob into a toilet bowl.

"Yeah. There ya go."

"And there you go," said the waitress in her gruff voice as she put a plate down in front of each of them, and a basket of fries between. Without saying anything else, she left the check on the table and sauntered away.

"Wait until you try these," she said with a little less toughness and a little more earnest excitement. "You'll never go back to Mickey D's again."

"I don't go there in the first place." However, they did look like pretty solid burgers - overflowing with tomatoes and pickles, semi-melted cheese dripping down the bottom bun. She picked hers up to inspect, curling her lip.

"It won't bite. Well... not since yesterday."

Weiss decided to ignore that ominous comment and took a bite. It was every bit as delicious as Yang claimed, though the grease running down her chin made her panic and grab a napkin to catch it before it ruined her clothes. Yang chuckled but didn’t mention it otherwise; simply dug into her own food and watched the prim and proper girl feed her face.

"How is it?" she finally asked about halfway through the burger.

"It's… so wrong that it's right."

Grinning wolfishly, she leaned in and took a bite of the other end of the burger - away from Weiss's mouth, but trapping it between them for the briefest of seconds. Pulling back, she chewed and swallowed, then whispered, "Welcome to my world."

* * *

Half an hour later, Yang's motorcycle was growling through the old neighbourhoods, sending echoes off the buildings. Still having no idea where she was being taken, Weiss tried not to act surprised when they pulled up in front of the old abandoned train depot.

"Oh," she breathed when Yang hopped off. "This… is it? Your hideout?"

"That's not how I think of it," she grunted as she helped Weiss down and started toward the broken-down shell of a building. Shifting a couple of boards aside, she managed to edge her way through the door - and her hand remained on the boards for Weiss to step through.

"You can't be serious."

"As a heart attack."

"There are probably a thousand ways to get tetanus in there!" No response. Letting out a frustrated growl, Weiss stomped forward and tried to squirm her way through the opening without letting anything touch her.

All she got for her trouble was a swat on the backside, one that caused her to shriek - and Yang to shriek with laughter. Ignoring that as best she could, she followed her up the nearby set of stairs to the old offices, and through one of the open doorways.

Inside were several old wooden chairs, and a comfortable couch that had seen far better days. On top of the couch was a crisp, clean linen sheet, which helped to lessen her disgust. In addition, there were two tables, the smaller one covered in candles of various sizes. As the sun was just beginning to set, Yang wasted no time taking out a Zippo and lighting them.

"You sure know how to show a girl a good time," Weiss told her, voice heavy with sarcasm.

"We’re barely getting started, Schnee," Yang said, turning back to her. When Weiss tensed, she lowered herself down into a bestial stance. "Gonna get you, GET you, GE-"

"STOP THAT." Yang was grinning, but she did stand up from her crouch, one hand on her hip. "Now, I… I don't know what exactly you thought you were going to do with me here, but there's not going to be any-"

Her words cut off when she felt Yang's hands alight upon her hips, thumbs massaging her gently. Dark eyes stabbing down into hers, even though they were barely visible in the low lighting. There had to be words left that could take her out of this situation, that would force the uncouth girl in the leather to release a princess of such high breeding. Why couldn't she think? Why did being this close cloud her brain?

"Any what?" Weiss dropped her gaze, so Yang urged, "Go on."

"Hanky panky." 

The leader laughed in her face. Actually laughed, loudly and riotously, and Weiss felt her cheeks colour for an entirely new reason now: embarrassment. "Seriously?! That's how you wanna put it?!"

"Then how would  _ you _ put it, if you're so, so… well-travelled?!"

One hand reached up to her neck, grabbing it from behind - not just cupping it, but the fingertips digging into either side. Her heart stopped, her stomach tightened into a knot. And before her mind could catch up with current events, Yang was kissing her, pressing hot lips into hers and sliding them across each other, tugging gently at Weiss's lower one. Everything about her body was completely useless as she stood there and took it, as she let this insane event that she could never have envisioned unfold, starring a double of herself who apparently had no willpower at all.

But it felt better than anything she'd ever experienced, even if she hated thinking that. Better than walking in the rain when she was a small child, better than her bed in the morning when she didn't want to get up. Better enough to be the best.

When Yang finally pulled her away with that strong hand, she breathed, "Words... don't really work for that."

Slowly, Weiss's hand came up and brushed her own lips. That really happened. Some girl from her school - some GIRL - had just taken away her first kiss. Maybe it had been perfect in every way other than its origin, but that was still a first she could never do over again.

"Hey, what is it?" Yang asked, eyebrows knitting slightly as she leaned in - and the instant she did, she set off a reaction.

_ SLAP! _

The blonde's eyes were so wide they looked like they might fall out. Hand pressed to her cheek, she slowly turned back to look at Weiss, who was standing there, huffing and puffing with her fists clenched down by her sides, arms straight, blue eyes sparking and jaw clenched.

"You hit me," Yang said in a low voice.

"I did!" she snapped angrily. "Wh… what are you going to do about it, you neanderthal? Push me down? Make me yours, or hurt me, o-or kill me, or what?! I don't care! I'm… I'm not your  _ toy!" _

Weiss was fully prepared to bolt from the room at a moment's notice. Yes, she was a cheerleader and a star athlete in physical education class, but she had a feeling that if she got in a fight with Yang, she would lose. And perhaps not survive the encounter.

But she was not prepared for the pain that slowly crept into the thug’s face. Revulsion, confusion. Lowering her hand, she did indeed close it into a fist, but what she said was very different from Weiss’s expectations.

"You really think… I would ever harm a hair on your head? That I'm that kind of person?"

"How should I know?! All you ever do is say you're going to 'get' me!" Her arms gestured at their surroundings, at the remote and abandoned nature of them. "Well, you have me now! Are you going to finish 'getting' me or not?!"

Then Yang's face started to get more and more angry. She wasn't moving, but she also wasn't saying anything else. More than anything, Weiss found that to be terrifying - because she couldn't figure out what it meant. 

Not wasting any more time, she fled out the doorway and down the stairs. Whether she had a ride home or not, she didn't want to spend another moment with the brute. She had done her time.

Of course Weiss expected to hear the racket of the motorcycle coming up from behind. Her insides clenched in fear at the sound, but she'd known it was a possibility.

"GET ON!"

"NO!" she called over without even looking, arms tucked tight around her body. "Leave me alone!"

"I can't, you stupid nitwit! Get on the bike!"

Finally, Weiss's pace slowed and she turned to glare at the blonde, trying to ignore the intensity in her face - to ignore the fullness of the lips that had just done unspeakable things moments ago. "Not going  _ anywhere _ with you,  _ ever _ again! You tried to take advantage of me!"

"I did not! I tried to wake you up outta that boring life you have! You're not happy without a little spice - and you  _ know _ it!" Glancing at the road ahead of her, she repeated, "But this ain't about that! Get on!"

"Never again, okay?! I..." Finally, she stopped, and Yang followed suit. "You shouldn't have done that, you didn’t even ask! I'm not a… whatever you are, that isn't me, and you had  _ no right _ to try to t-turn me into one! And I think you knew that, so you pretending you're not to blame is  _ so _ childish!"

Her hand reached out for Weiss's forearm. "Schnee-"

"SHUT UP! Don't touch me!" Jerking away, she started to walk again. "Just leave me alone! Go find another target for your candles and your… your advances!"

"This ain't about me!" Vaulting off her bike, she grabbed Weiss from behind. "Get on the bike, right now, you goddamn idiot!"

"WHAT?!" Struggling, she tried to kick Yang - and succeeded. Didn't seem to make a bit of difference. "Let me go! What are you doing - how  _ dare _ you go any further after I specif-"

"QUIET!" she hissed hard. "You don't want them to hear us!"

"MAYBE I DO! MAYBE I WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO HEAR ME!"

Losing her patience, Yang spun her around and glared directly into her eyes, talking more quietly than ever. "You don't know where you are, cupcake. This place, it's safe for me.  _ Barely _ . Not for you. So I'm not letting you out of my sight until you're back in the La La Land you normally call home."

"Excuse me?! I didn't ASK you to protect me!"

"Who cares?" Yang growled. "Doesn't matter if either of us wants that. It's just happening. Get on or I'll literally roll along next to you the whole way, but I promise you're gonna be in a lot more danger the slower we go."

Finally, the fog from the kiss seemed to roll back within Weiss's mind, and she saw how Yang was actually  _ shaking _ . Not from rage, but from anxiety - from fear on her behalf. This was the first time she had ever looked afraid of anything to her knowledge, and that stopped her from responding with another flippant dismissal.

"You're serious. There are really… this is where a dangerous element hangs out?" A brief nod. "Then why would you bring me here?!"

"Like I said, nobody will scrap with me. They know they'll go down; even if they take me, my girls will come for revenge. On the other hand, a little piece of penny candy like you, walking all by herself? That’s no challenge at all." Her hand reached up to Weiss's cheek, but when she saw her flinch she stopped an inch away. "Just... do us both a favour and get on the damn bike. I'll take you home."

The prospect caused Weiss to glare. "You really will? No games, no detours, nothing?"

"Promise."

"Schnees stand by their promises. They also don't forgive people who break them." Glancing over her shoulder at how one of the streetlights was flickering on and off, she took a step toward the bike. "This is your last chance. Don't toy with me."

"Scout's honour." Then she picked Weiss up and sat her on the bike, as before, and slid on behind her. "You better…  _ Yang _ on tight." The roar of the engine drowned out the sound of Weiss's groan at the horrible line.

* * *

By the time Yang followed Weiss's clipped directions to her house in Atlas Heights - a neighbourhood where Yang's noisy hog was most certainly unwelcome - both of them had calmed down significantly, though there was still a great deal of tension. After helping her down, Yang allowed the engine to idle as she turned to her.

"You stopped a little short," Weiss remarked.

"Wouldn't want your mommy and daddy to see you getting dropped off by me." Reaching down into her saddlebag, she produced Weiss's books and pushed them into her arms gently. "Take it easy, Schnee."

"Wait." Yang didn't say anything or move. "You… I don't know if you were being honest about the danger back there or not. But even if you exaggerated slightly, I guess I appreciate being driven home."

"Believe me, I undersold it. You gotta be tough as nails to hang out in my neck of the woods. The only reason nobody messes with my creampuff little sister is because they  _ know _ she's my little sister. And the Dragons are always safe, of course."

That made her blink slightly. "You have a little sister?"

"Yeah, she's a junior. Why, that surprise you?" Then she grinned, half-wolfishly but half-wan. "Probably thought I grew out of some kind of tree fungus."

"The possibility had crossed my mind, yes." Biting her lip, she glanced over toward her house, then back. "What happened… in the depot. Why did you have to do it? That was the scariest, most horrible thing that ever happened in my life."

"You liked it." When Weiss ground her teeth together, Yang held up both hands. "Just calling 'em like I see 'em, Princess. If you really didn't want me to kiss you, it never would have happened; you're not some weakling, even if you’re not a roughneck like me. So somewhere, deep down, you were at least curious, even if that's all there was to it. And now you satisfied that curiosity. You’re welcome."

Weiss wanted to shout at her, to deny everything. But there was no use in delaying the inevitable. "So maybe it did feel good. That does  _ not _ mean I wanted it with you, and does  _ not _ mean I want it to happen again, alright?!"

"Fine. It won't." Yang's smile finally faded again. "And I won't bother you again at school; none of the Dragons will. You tried being with a brute, and I think you liked it more than you want to admit… but if you're really done with your test drive, that's cool. Held up your end of the bargain, so I'm not gonna go back on my word."

"Fine. Guess that's honourable of you. See you in class." With that, she turned and walked up the sidewalk.

“Night, Schnee.”

But when she got to her door, she couldn't help but look again. Yang was still on her bike, still staring up at the house. Waiting for her to make it safely inside. Her mouth dropped open, but she decided to suppress any and all urges to call out to her, or otherwise alter her course. They had already agreed to leave things that way. So she gave a brief wave and went inside, and that was that.

Except it wasn't. After she had unloaded her books, finished what little homework she had left to do and readied for bed, there was no longer anything to distract her from the intrusive thoughts about Yang's kiss. About how much more exhilarated she had felt than ever before in the entirety of her short life. Against her will and all her best planning, she rolled over and squealed into the pillow at the thought of what had happened.

First kisses always do that to a person.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you guys are liking this so far! Special thanks to Tom G. for the beta work!

**=Chapter 2**

The next day, Weiss braced herself as she walked past locker 134. But this time, nothing happened. The Dragons all looked at her, and Yang’s expression held a strange mixture of emotions. The others looked a little smug. Still, none of them said a word. The looks on their faces haunted her so badly that she barely noticed what she was doing, stumbling through her day.

“What’s the matter with you?”

Glancing up, she flashed a wan smile over at her friend. “Oh… nothing, Pyrrha; it’s fine. I just feel a little weird.”

“Weird in what way?” Studious as always, Pyrrha Nikos had already taken her notes from the board and was now happy to focus on her friend. What a sweet soul. There was a reason the two had been thick as thieves for so much of their lives.

“Well… I’ll tell you at lunch.”

So she did. It was hard to get through the rest of class, but she managed, completing her notes even if it took her twice as much effort to concentrate as usual. Then, once they had gained the relative quiet of the cafeteria, she unloaded all her woes onto her friend.

“She _kissed_ you?!”

Face beet red as she tried to focus on her tray of underwhelming school food, Weiss whispered, “Keep your voice down! And… yes.”

“But that’s…” Glancing very briefly over at the table on the other side of the room, where the Dragons were holding court, the red-haired amazon whispered, “You’re both _women!”_

“Really, Pyrrha? Am I a woman? What gave that away?”

Frowning, Pyrrha looked back down to her tray. “I’m sorry. But I’m not sure what else to say.” After a pause, she added, “Did you like it?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Really?!” At least she was keeping her voice down now. “Weiss, I thought you were going to tell me that it was disgusting, a-and that you wanted my help reporting her to the authorities!”

“Reporting her for what? Feeding me a cheeseburger and giving me a kiss?”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

The prissy platinum blonde deflated, all fire and vinegar leaving her. “It was nice. But it was _also_ disgusting. Sorry I can’t describe it any better than that, because I really don’t have any other frame of reference. I’ve never been kissed by _anyone_ before.”

“I’ve never been kissed by anyone still.” Scratching the back of her neck, she reached for her milk carton with her other hand. “But it really wasn’t bad? Kissing a woman? I mean, you said ‘disgusting’ but you also said ‘nice’, which sounds like… it wasn’t the worst thing you’ve ever experienced.”

“It wasn’t.” The two simple words took a lot more effort to get out than they should have.

“Wow…”

“H-hey, you know that I’m telling you this in confidence, right? Don’t go blabbing it around the whole school.”

Looking quite offended, Pyrrha urgently hissed, “I would never! You’re my best friend! Even if I don’t really know how to feel about… well, about _this,_ that doesn’t mean I could-”

They were both interrupted by someone bumping into Weiss’s back as she walked past. It was one of the Dragons - a dark-skinned girl with vibrant green hair. She didn’t even glance back at them, but merely kept walking toward her comrades.

“Rude,” Weiss grumbled.

“Hey, what’s this?” Pyrrha asked as she bent to the floor. When she straightened back up, she had a folded sheet of notebook paper between her strong-but-dainty fingers.

“I don’t know, what is it?”

“She dropped it. Emerald, I mean.”

“That’s her name? _Emerald?”_ But they were both too curious about the note to focus on the identity of the one who dropped it. There weren’t many words to read:

‘_Princess. Same place same time. Or not.’_

Weiss was reading it through again when Pyrrha whispered, “What does it mean? Do you think she… dropped it by you on purpose?”

“I don't know.” Sliding it into one of her books, she added, “But I suppose I'm going to find out.”

* * *

Weiss shivered in the slight breeze as she waited in the school parking lot. The weather wasn't turning to Autumn chill quite yet, but Summer was definitely over. Besides, her cheerleader skirt let more air in than it could have; she should start wearing tights underneath soon.

“There she is. Right on schedule.”

That wasn't Yang’s voice.

After a second of hesitation, she turned to see three of the Dragons bearing down on her. They were all wearing the standard black leather jackets, elegant art of an Asian-style dragon on the backs, but their outfits varied beyond that. Emerald was wearing jeans, a low-cut top that matched her hair and baby doll pumps. The Italian-looking girl had leather pants and a white tank top on, black boots that more suited the jacket. And the third…

Weiss found herself getting lost in the smoldering eyes. They were somehow hypnotic. Her simple red dress flared out around her knees, and the trim tapering legs disappeared into matching strappy heels - the open toes were a tiny bit scandalous in their conservative little town. In some ways, she looked far too delicate to be a Dragon… except for her fiery gaze was more fierce than even that of Yang herself.

“The Dragon sends her regards,” she purred in a silky voice.

“So the Dragon can't come see me herself? That's nice. I can tell she really cares about me when she sends her flunkies.”

The Italian girl scowled before snapping, “Hey, watch it, Pep Rally Princess. Yang can't always be available; she has responsibilities.”

“Then what was the point of this?”

“To test your interest level,” the fiery girl susurrated. Her hand reached out and nipped a strand of hair behind Weiss’s ear, prompting her to shiver before taking a step backward. “Heh… nervous little thing.”

Folding her arms over her chest, Weiss grumbled, “Thought you were supposed to back off if I let her try charming me once. That was the deal.”

“Have we bothered you all day?” Emerald insisted. “No. This is just checking in. And like Cinder said, we want to know if you would be open to more fun with Yang or not. But you showed up, so you must not be _too_ mad about last night.”

“I'm not a homosexual.” When they all giggled, she snapped, “What? Why is that funny?!”

“So many girls have said that,” the one called Cinder laughed easily.

“Said that to Yang?”

Emerald offered with a little smirk, “To all of us.”

“Oh.” She took another little step backward, a hand raising to ward off sudden advances. “You're _all_ lesbians? Like a… a group of delinquent deviants?”

The Dragons laughed. And instantly, it was back to the way things were before; an entire gang of girls laughing, making fun of her. Looking down on her as some kind of simpleton, a pleb who didn't understand the world as intimately as they did. Weiss wanted to disappear.

But then Cinder cackled, “I like the alliteration. And it's close enough to true that it might as well be.”

Maybe this time they weren't laughing _at_ her. It helped relieve some of her fear, her shame. And her curiosity could take center stage again. “Really? You all… kiss women?” A nod from all three. “Why don't you just kiss each other, then?”

“Some of us have,” Emerald admitted - and she saw one of Cinder’s eyelids twitch, and the Italian girl’s hands went into her jacket pockets. “But mostly, we don't date inside the Dragons. We're all like sisters to each other, so it would be weird.”

“Oh. Well… I guess that makes sense. As much as any of this does.”

“And not all of us date _only_ women. Coco is going steady with that boy Fox, even though she keeps Velvet on a short leash, too.”

Weiss looked over at the Italian girl, who shook her head with a slight smile. “No, I'm Blake. And I'm all about pussy.”

“You really are,” Cinder muttered, and the other two laughed.

The word “pussy” was still making Weiss blush, but she found her voice again. “O-okay, so… so you all like girls, and you all like me? Or what? I'm not really… sure why you…”

The three had turned to stare at her, and she was stuck by how intense their gazes could be when they let the full brunt of them fall on a single target.

“Someone thinks she's real cool cat,” Emerald snorted.

“Well, she is,” Cinder said in that low, silky tone of hers as she began to pace around Weiss, the latter turning to keep her in sight. “Those sweet cheeks, long, skinny legs… and it's so cold today. Really committed to showing her school spirit.” Her fingers flipped the very edge of Weiss’s skirt to illustrate.

“H-hey, it's not _that_ cold! And I could say the same about you, with that dress!” When Cinder took a step toward her, she stepped back. “What are you doing?!”

“Testing.”

“Well, I have had enough tests for one lifeti-”

Her heart leapt into her throat in a way it hadn't done yet when she felt not one, but _two_ bodies connecting with her back. A hand apiece from Blake and Emerald fell to her arms, not quite gripping tight but still boxing her in as Cinder stepped forward, completely taking over her field of vision.

“Smells good,” Blake observed, voice low and intimate in a way that sent shivers up Weiss's spine. “Jasmine?”

Terrified, Weiss whispered, “M… me?”

“I agree; it's jasmine.” Cinder sounded completely at ease, which only made Weiss feel less so. Her hand came up to pet along the side of her neck. “Soft skin. Really takes good care of herself.”

“W-wait, I'm… what are you doing to me?” No answer. The three petting hands were joined by two more in the small of her back, and she clamped her eyes shut. “What… are you _going_ to… do?”

Lips next to her ear told her in a whisper, “Whatever you want.” She couldn't even tell who they belonged to.

“Please… I…”

Something she would never have predicted in all her life happened. She realised that beneath her fear, and how little she wanted those three to be pressing in on her from all sides… it was also the most exciting thing that had ever happened in her short, sheltered life. Her hands came up to slap Cinder, or push her away, and only wound up resting on her shoulders.

“Golly gee,” came a husky voice from her left side. Probably Blake, if they hadn't changed positions. “I think… she's _into_ it.”

“Naturally.” Weiss finally opened her eyes, only to see the burning embers staring back as Cinder whispered, “I think this has been a very successful test. Don't you?”

Weiss swallowed. After a moment, she managed to breathe, “I… I d-don't… please stop, I’m-” Instantly, they all backed off. “Huh?”

“Now I'm more worried about Yang being with you than you being with Yang,” Blake laughed. Of the three of them, she was the only one who looked a little flustered.

“You stopped.”

“Mmm, we did,” Cinder said with a smug smirk. “The word ‘stop’ was pretty clear. Besides, our goal wasn't to start a foursome in the middle of the parking lot. Just to see if you were… _open_ to courting one of us, or if our fearless leader would be wasting her time.”

Emerald patted her arm, and it was a lot more platonic. “Looks like you're our kinda girl, Schnee.”

“No,” she breathed. But she sounded less than sure. Yang's kiss returned to the forefront of her mind, and her already-flushed face turned darker.

“It's alright,” Blake offered gently. That was enough to make her feel a little flare of affection for her, simply because it was the kindest thing any of them had said since this sapphic gauntlet began. “None of us are going to judge you, obviously.”

Cinder let out a harsh little laugh. “Pampering the new blood? No. Let her figure it out on her own like we had to. It will make her stronger.”

“I'm not joining your little social club,” Weiss said defiantly. Though her voice shook, at least she did it.

“Listen to this rich girl. What a-”

“That's alright,” Blake cut her off. “Take your time. Girls?”

At Blake's prompt, Cinder and Emerald began to walk away with her toward their bikes. It was only Blake who looked back, though her expression was unreadable. The entire encounter had left the pampered princess shaken and her legs buckled, sending her down to the pavement. There she remained, trembling and completely useless, until Pyrrha arrived.

“You alright?” she asked gently, reaching down a hand to help her up as her green eyes stared down in concern.

“Just… take me home, please?”

* * *

It took twice as long for her to finish her homework that night. Pyrrha stayed with her, and listened when she needed to vent about what was going on with the Dragons. After a while, the subject became the prime focus.

“So do you think they might be right? That you're… like they are?”

“Of course not!” Weiss burst out, flopping onto her back on her canopy bed. “I like boys! Sun, that football player? O-or… um, I don't know, um…”

The taller girl shrugged, penciling in another answer. “You don't have to prove anything to me, Weiss. But it doesn't sound like you wanted them to stop.”

“Like I…” Blinking, she turned toward her more fully. “What do you mean? I was terrified!”

“No, of course! I'm sorry, I didn't mean that you wanted them to keep going, either - or that they should have done that! Still… the way you talk about it doesn't make it seem as if the event itself was bad. Only that you didn't trust the people doing it, so you weren't comfortable with it going further. That's all I'm trying to say.”

Her cheeks were already darkening. “So I would have been alright with it if it was Yang, is that what you're trying to say?”

“I don't know! I've never had to think about girls going with girls before!” Sighing, she reached over to pat Weiss's wrist. “Please know that if you tell me you're not interested, then I believe you. But if you're asking how this _sounds_ to me…”

“Oh…” She sighed, putting her hand over Pyrrha's. They shared a tentative smile. “You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just really on edge. Let's get back to work.”

* * *

Late that night, a sharp sound startled Weiss awake. When she went to her window to see the source, she was just in time to watch a rock ricochet off the glass. Staring down at the ground a floor below, she was able to make out the dim figure of Yang Xiao Long.

“What are you doing?!” she mouthed after opening the window. All Yang did was motion for her to come outside. “No! It’s almost midnight!”

“Come on!” Yang mouthed, glancing around nervously.

“How?!” Her hands swept wide to the roof. There was no way for her to get outside without going through the entire house. Yang pointed to the corner; there was a trellis lining one side of the porch. “Oh…”

“Hurry!”

Cursing her own stupidity, Weiss put on her heeled slippers with white rabbit fur pom poms and cautiously climbed out the window onto the thin lip of roof that stretched over the porch, knowing she was about to fall and break her neck. The one time she glanced over, she saw Yang was a lot closer now, standing just below where Weiss was crouching. Ready to catch her if need be. A little at a time, she made her way over to the trellis until she could safely climb down.

“There,” Yang whispered now that they could hear each other properly, cradling her in her arms like a lifeguard with a drowning victim.

“Put me down!” Yang did, though she looked regretful. “Thank you.”

“Great. C'mon, let’s take a walk.”

Once they were down the block and away from her home, Weiss demanded, “Alright, what is so important it couldn’t wait until tomorrow? My father would blow his stack if he found out I was sneaking out in the middle of the night like this!”

“Blake told me what happened.”

Gulping, she felt her shoulders go stiff. “And?”

“And… I wanted you to know, I had nothing to do with that. Like, I was gonna give you a few days to figure out how you felt. They weren’t supposed to rush you.”

“Oh.” The tension didn’t leave, but her ire began to wane. This wasn't what she had been expecting at all. “I suppose I believe you. They never said you asked them to do it, and I didn’t see you looking at me after they dropped the note.”

“Note?”

As they walked, Weiss recounted her side of the story on the after-school encounter. Yang mostly just listened, hands stuffed in the pockets of her leather jacket and expression impassive. They had reached a cul-de-sac when the tale finished up.

“You could have punched Cinder in the tit. She talks a big game, but she’s really only dangerous if she’s got a knife in her hands. Or fire; she’s a terrible firebug. Otherwise, you could probably take her if you needed to.”

“But could I have taken all three of them? When I’ve never so much as thrown a punch before?”

Yang snorted. “Fair point.”

“They really thought I wanted to… I don’t know, date all of them at once? But that’s crazy!”

“You were into it, though.” Before Weiss could protest, she held up a hand. “It was new. You liked the attention, and it felt real neat and exciting with them being so close, even if you were scared and might not have really wanted it if you had the chance to think.”

The accuracy of her assessment stunned the prissy girl. “Yeah. That’s… that’s it exactly.”

“I get it. And they’re all really hot.”

“That’s less pertinent,” she sighed.

“Really? Which one isn’t hot?”

“None of them! To me! I mean, I like _boys!”_

“Do you?” she pressed, reaching over to take up Weiss’s hand and swing it idly between them. Weiss didn’t pull it away. “You can like _both_, you know. Like Coco.”

In a small voice, Weiss whispered, “But I don’t. Before now, I’ve never really thought enough about dating anybody at all. Boy, girl, wooly mammoth… nobody. Even if I do think Elvis is dreamy.” Yang laughed. “Stop making fun of me all the time!”

“Wooly mammoth,” she chortled, and Weiss finally cracked a reluctant smile. “Good one.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“But seriously, I meant it when I said I would back off if you weren’t interested. But I didn’t want you thinking they were shaking you down for answers for my sake. They were being overprotective all on their own.”

“Protecting _you_ against _me?_ That makes no sense. You’re so…”

One of Yang’s eyebrows went up, but Weiss didn’t finish and she didn’t force the issue. “Even Dragons are human. Well, these Dragons are.” Sighing, she looked up at the sky as they paced down the sidewalk. “Lot of crap in my past I’m not proud of. Pain. I broke some hearts. A couple girls broke mine. Whatever. But they know that when I go all-in on a girl, I go _all-in._ No beating around the bush.”

“And… they don’t want to see you get hurt again?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow,” Weiss breathed. “I didn’t expect you to admit you get hurt.”

“I get hurt all the time. Of course, my response is usually to hurt back.” Her grin was lopsided, and for some reason it made Weiss’s heart skip over a beat. “But hey, sex is just sex. If you _did_ decide to try a little fun with all three of them, I wouldn’t care.”

Now her heart was just stopping dead entirely. It took a few seconds for her to resume normal breathing and hiss, “YANG! That is so inappropriate! I w-wouldn’t- that isn’t how I-”

“Whatever. I’m not here to pass judgment. ‘Let whoever is without sin cast the first stone’ and all. You wanna chase another girl? Have at it. I got no room to talk.”

Weiss’s face was still hot enough to fry an egg on it, but she was too startled by the quote not to respond. “You know the Bible? _You?”_

Taking offense, Yang straightened a little more. “Yeah, me. My stepmom used to take us to Sunday School all the time. But that was before…”

The particular flavour of silence Yang lapsed into somehow told Weiss she shouldn’t push that topic. So she didn’t. Instead, she squeezed Yang’s hand a little as they walked. In that moment, they both seemed to notice they were still holding hands and let go, walking a little further apart.

“Okay, here’s your stop.”

“Right.” Glancing at her house, she looked back toward Yang. “Um… I feel like I should thank you, but I’m not sure why.”

“Then don’t,” she snorted.

“Oh wait - thank you for telling me you didn’t ask them to flirt with me so much. It really… I mean, you might want to think about whose company you keep, but at least it helps me feel less, um, like _prey._”

“You’re still prey. I’m just a sporting hunter.”

Weiss’s stomach dropped away as Yang put her hands on her waist. She thought for sure something was going to happen - but instead, she merely lifted her up to the trellis so she could climb to her bedroom. Every time she felt those hands on her body, she lost her breath and her power of rational thought. It was intimidating and frightening and exhilarating all at once.

She had only gone halfway up when she lost one of her slippers. Yang picked it up and hissed, “You want this now?”

“Wait until I get up there!” she whispered, climbing the rest of the way. Then she turned to catch the slipper…

Only to see Yang pacing away. As loud as she could muster without worrying about waking anyone up, she hissed, “Wait! That’s mine!”

“I’ll keep this as a souvenir, Cinderella,” she hissed back at her, twirling it around in her hand and winking at its owner. “Maybe you can be my queen someday.”

Then Weiss was alone, standing next to her open window with only one slipper and trying to figure out why her life had taken so many incredible turns.


	3. Chapter 3

**=Chapter 3**

“Thief.”

Yang snorted as they leaned against the row of lockers the following morning. “I’ll give it back eventually. And hey, it’s not like I’m gonna wear _one_ slipper or sell it or whatever.”

“Bet you didn’t even bring it to school,” Weiss accused.

“It’s in my saddlebag. Hand to God.”

“Well… fine. But I still don’t know what you wanted with it. Nobody keeps an old slipper as a souvenir.”

“Didn’t look old to me,” she laughed. “Brand new, like most of everything you own. Do you even know what the inside of a flea market looks like?”

Weiss tilted her head. “What kind of market?”

“Never mind. Besides, maybe I just really want the chance to put it back on you myself, like in Cinderella. Except backwards, since you’re already a princess, and I’m the peasant.”

For some reason, this comparison pleased Weiss, and she found herself smiling devilishly to match the one in Yang’s features. “Maybe I’ll put it on you instead, since that’s how the story goes. Though it probably won’t fit.”

“You saying I have huge feet?”

“I’m saying _mine_ are _small_. That’s it; no insult intended, Miss Dragon.”

They were both laughing when the rest of the Dragons came up to surround them. Though her pulse ticked up and she fell silent, she somehow didn’t feel nearly as threatened as the afternoon before, when she was facing them alone. In such a short time, she had reclassified Yang as her ally instead of one of them.

“Well, well,” Emerald said with a huge grin. “You two are getting along _famously.”_

“Yeah,” Yang said shortly. “Were you invited to this sock hop?”

Cinder’s hand raised to block their line of sight to each other briefly. “Now, now, no in-fighting. We can all have our turn with Little Miss Muffet here; no need to cut in line in front of our fearless leader.”

“So, is this what you do?” Weiss asked Cinder, secretly proud of herself because her voice wasn’t shaking. “Pick random girls and pass them around from Dragon to Dragon?”

“Nah,” Yang answered for her. “Though it’s happened once or twice with some of us.”

“Velvet,” Coco sighed dreamily, and Emerald giggled. “That was a fun night.”

“Oh my GOSH,” Weiss said under her breath, face colouring. She regretted bringing it up.

“Hey, I kept my hands off Coco’s bunny rabbit,” Yang protested with her hand raised. “Though I did drive her home after Cinder was through with her.”

The flame-eyed flirt shrugged, a carefully-executed action that went along with her casual tone of voice. Both of which were designed to offset her words. “She dared me to break her. I succeeded. Why do people always complain when I give them exactly what they want?”

“_Break_ her?” Weiss asked.

“Yes.” Her hand began to graze up and down Weiss’s bicep, but Yang pushed it off; she was silently grateful. “The girl got to enjoy sweetness with the others, but I could tell she wanted to be a willing slave to an absolute authority. I offered, she said ‘yes’, and we tried it.”

“And she cried all the way home,” Yang rebutted.

“But she came back for more, didn’t she?” No one answered, and Cinder’s smile widened. “I rest my case.”

“The second session had her swearing you off for good so she could heal properly,” Coco fired at her with folded arms. “That rests the case for you.”

Though she still had no idea what exactly being a ‘slave’ entailed, Weiss decided she was better off not knowing. Instead, she decided to address something else. “Well, I won’t be the communal harlot for you hooligans. Please keep your hands to yourself.”

“No promises,” both Cinder and Emerald said at the same time. Coco laughed.

“Yes, promises,” Yang told them pointedly. “If she comes for you later and changes her mind, you can get all excited. Till then, be good girls, okay?”

“Will you stop discussing whether or not I’m going to be your trollop as if I’m not even here?!” Weiss piped up.

“Sorry,” Blake offered her, patting her shoulder. Yang’s eyebrow twitched, but she seemed to decide the touch posed no threat. “Don’t worry, they’re just teasing.”

“Well…” Cinder said noncommittally.

Weiss turned to stare at Blake dead in the eyes. “So, you want the same thing? To kiss me, and… and do other unspeakable things? Even though your leader has already expressed interest? Is that just how the Dragons do things?”

“Schnee… I would make you see stars.” The others hooted and hollered, even though Blake wasn’t joining in; just staring dead even at her. Those hypnotic amber orbs seemed to draw her in, almost as badly as Yang’s intense violet irises or the burning embers of Cinder. “Just because I’m polite enough to let you and Yang work things out without my interference doesn’t mean I’m less interested - _or_ less _skilled.”_

“Wh… wha…?”

“But Yang has staked her claim.” She gestured to the leader, who had not been laughing along with the others, even if she was grinning darkly while watching Weiss struggle with her own feelings on this topic. “She gets first crack at seeing if you’re into her, and I’m not going to do anything to stand in the way. So _both_ of you would have to give your blessing before I start sniffing around your skirt.”

“Thank you, Belladonna,” Yang said in a falsely official tone, bowing slightly to her. Blake also bowed, and they both laughed a little.

“This is insane,” Weiss breathed, staring around at all of them. “You’re just so… casual about it all. Do my feelings mean nothing to you?”

It was Cinder who answered. “They mean everything. We want to make you feel really, _really_ good.”

“But we’re not going to do it against your will,” Emerald assured her. “Just tease you a little. I mean, lighten up! They’re only words. Well, words and maybe a pat on the butt here and there.”

“I’m not even all that interested,” Coco confessed. “You’re cute, but I’ve got my hands full with Fox and Velvet.”

“Eww, boys,” Emerald said in an overly juvenile tone.

“Aren’t you dating Mercury?” Yang asked.

“Well, yeah, but only because he really knows his way around a girl’s-”

A loud clearing of a throat pulled all their attention around. There stood Miss Goodwitch, hands at the hips of her prudish floor-length skirt and glasses catching the light to make her look even more menacing.

“Haven’t I told you girls not to congregate here?”

“Sorry, Teach,” Yang said with a snort. “Just trying to keep out of the way of all these students thirsty for knowledge.”

“Move along to class. The bell will ring soon, and I don’t want to have to see you in detention _again_.”

As Weiss turned her wrist to check her watch, astonished to see that they really would be late if they didn’t hurry, Blake said, “We will.”

“Good.” As she turned away, she finally caught sight of Weiss there and started, blinking several times before she found her voice again. _“Miss Schnee?!”_

“Yes?”

It took the disappointed teacher a few seconds to recover from her shock. Her glasses had nearly slipped down her nose, and she caught them with a finger before they could fall off. “You… really ought to be more discerning in the company you keep. I hope not to see you hanging around these hooligans again.”

The others snickered a little. Weiss knew the reason was that she had used that exact term to refer to the Dragons scant minutes ago. Smiling as sweetly as she could, she said, “I was hoping to be a positive influence on them, Miss Goodwitch. After all, if we give up on them, they’ll never know any better.”

The laughing got louder, but Weiss kept her face entirely serious. The teacher rolled her eyes and stormed off, muttering some variety of curses under her breath.

“Wow, that was slick,” Yang laughed. “Her blonde bun is wound too tight.”

“I tried,” Weiss said, slumping slightly as a couple of hands patted her on the back. “But I feel bad for lying to her. Especially because I have a feeling you’re going to rub off on me a _lot_ more than I rub off on you.”

“Or maybe we’ll just rub you,” Cinder purred, and even while a couple of them giggled afresh, she held up a hand to forestall Yang’s reprimand. “I kid, I kid. Well… not really, but I’m also not going to cross any boundaries you don’t want crossed.”

“That’s the best you’ll get from her,” Blake sighed, still patting her in sympathy. “I suggest you feel relief.”

Against her better judgment, Weiss was almost becoming _comfortable_ with this group of ruffians. Now that she had been assured their lewd remarks were only remarks and nothing more, she saw no sense in acting overly offended. And they seemed to have their own variety of fun that was liberating; societal trappings and labels didn’t bother them. Maybe having a wider circle of friends wouldn’t be so bad.

* * *

Pyrrha didn’t seem to agree with that assessment quite so readily.

“So now you're okay with them all wanting to… to _defile_ you?”

“NO!” Weiss hissed at her, glancing around at the study hall to see if anyone else was paying them any attention. Satisfied they weren't, she went on, “All I meant was, having a group of girls who like other girls telling me I'm attractive is… well, after getting over the fact that they're women…”

“You're flattered. I do understand that part, kind of. But now you sound like you _enjoy_ talking to them!”

She raised her pencil as if it were her index finger. “I find it interesting. They're just very different from the other students, and… it's not in a bad way. Well, the lewdness is, but there seems to be more to the Dragons than just lewdness and violence.”

“Such as?” When Weiss gave an annoyed sigh, she added, “That wasn't meant to sound dismissive; I don't know them so I'm genuinely curious.”

“I'll tell you when I figure it out. Again, not being dismissive.”

They both shared a small smile. Then the teacher shushed them and they got back to work.

* * *

That afternoon, Yang waited for her outside the locker room, hands stuffed into her pockets and boot tip tapping against the floor. Her lips pulled into a slow grin when she noticed her approach.

“Gonna get you…”

“Stop,” she laughed, and Yang laughed with her. “So I'm beginning to believe you really aren't pulling my leg. Mind you, I'm still not quite sure about you, but…”

The smug grin was a little infuriating. “But?”

“But I'm willing to try hanging out with you a little more.” To keep from having to think too hard about how surprised Yang looked, in spite of her grin, she hurried to add, “In the spirit of that, where to today?”

“Hmm… dunno. You pick.”

“Huh?”

As they headed toward the door, she went on, “Kinda already took you to a bar and an abandoned building. Made you cry. I figure it's your turn.”

“You did make me cry,” she sighed. “But not on purpose.” Silence fell for a moment. “Anywhere at all? My choice?”

“Sure.”

“Tennis court.” When Yang laughed out loud, she sighed, “Fine, forget it.”

“Okay, you seriously think you're gonna get me into your damn country club? Wearing a little white skirt?” She elbowed Weiss and added, “Never mind; now I see your game.”

Shaking her head, she said, “Don't be crass. And I was kidding, but if you really want to do something I’m interested in, we can play on the courts in Vytal Park. Unless you're scared of the competition.”

“Know what? Bring it on, Princess. It's only tennis. How hard can it be?”

* * *

A few hours later found them in the town’s most popular corner diner, laughing and coated in sweat. Their plates of pancakes were already half-empty. Yang had one leg up on the booth next to her, since this time she had deigned to allow Weiss to have her own side to herself.

“I could still get better!”

Pointing at Yang with her fork, she said, “Oh, definitely. But you're up against my years of professional training and playing on a competitive level. Still… you gave me a good workout.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don't patronize me; you licked me but _good_.” Sighing, she gazed over at the counter. “But I guess it was pretty fun. B-ball is more my thing.”

“Basketball? Hmm… I'm not great at it but I could play.”

“Nice. We'll shoot some hoops sometime.”

As she pulled her milkshake closer, she looked over the rim at Yang. “So… this at least answers one question I had.”

“Hmm?”

“Whether or not your interest in me was purely… physical. All those cat-calls…” The blonde nodded, clearly thoughtful. She lapsed into thoughtful silences often enough that Weiss was beginning to be able to tell. “It's okay,” she quickly assured her. “Maybe it's not fair of me to think that way. Or ask you about-”

“It was.”

Weiss felt her heart sinking. “Oh.”

“_Was_ just physical. At first. You were cute and that was pretty much all I knew about you. But now…” Her shrug was about as tense and discomfited as she had ever seen the Dragon, who was playing with her straw to help distract herself. “Things just feel… better when you're around. And you're pretty cool for a rich priss. Whatever.”

The sinking feeling immediately shot back upward and into the stratosphere. “O-oh?”

“Yeah. But you're probably already about done experimenting with your wild side, so it's pretty dumb to make a big deal.”

“Yang… wow.” Her heart was in her throat, and she felt a tingle in the pit of her stomach. “Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But… well…”

“Well, what?” She already sounded resigned.

“Let's say I'm done breaking into abandoned buildings and sneaking out of my house at midnight. And your other _indiscreet pursuits_. For the sake of argument, let’s say I was finished with all those things. Would… you still want to…” She needed a ready excuse. “Play tennis?”

“Huh?”

“Tennis. Or basketball. Or just meet up here at the diner.”

Yang turned to look at her, clearly surprised. “You're asking if I wanna be best buddies. You are actually asking that.”

“Fine,” she sighed, grabbing her fork and stabbing into the pancakes. “Make fun. So hilarious.”

“I'd love that.”

“What?”

“I'd love to be friends.” Her smile was so earnest, and it looked out of place with her leather jacket and typically gruff demeanor. “I mean, I'd love to be friends who kiss, but I'm not all-or-nothing about it. Today's been pretty great without necking.”

That little tacked-on bit Weiss drop her fork. It bounced off into the floor.

“Something wrong?” The impish light returned to her eyes.

“No! No, not at all, I… y-yeah, friends with possible, optional making out!” Smirking again, Yang took her next bite with great relish, so Weiss snapped, “Hey, don't go thinking you've already got me on the hook, Xiao Long. I'm still… figuring things out.”

“It's alright. I'm teasing, you know that by now. Just don't… _Yang_ me out to dry.”

Groaning, she pushed a hand into her face. “Okay, but I won't even want to be friends if you keep making puns with your name.”

“Whaaaat? Come on, that's kind of my thing!”

“No.”

“You’ll laugh one day.”

“Nope.”

“A little chuckle?” The pleading tone did coax a smile from Weiss, and they both laughed at each other. It was as close as she was going to get.

* * *

When Weiss was dropped off around the corner, she felt a few pounds lighter. The brief peck on the cheek Yang had given her before driving off may have been a factor. The very idea that some biker chick would hold this much sway over her mood was ludicrous, but it was getting harder and harder to pretend otherwise. Maybe she really could see herself at least _trying_ a walk on the wild side.

“Weiss Schnee!”

Her head ducked down between her shoulders, one foot halfway raised to the bottom stair. A thrill of dread shot into her throat as she changed her trajectory to head toward the living room instead.

“Where on earth have you been?”

Clearing her throat, she faced the back of the armchair in front of the fireplace. “N-noplace, Father.”

Jacques Schnee stood and turned to face her, hands in the small of his back. The crisply-tailored white suit matched his white hair and moustache perfectly, even though she knew it was salt-and-pepper and he bleached all of it to make the colour uniform.

“You are late. We expected you for supper.”

“I played a tennis game with a girl from school, a-and we had supper afterward,” she told him honestly. The friend’s identity could remain a mystery for all she cared.

“Which friend? Miss Nikos?” Drawing the conclusion on his own, he sighed and turned back toward the fire. “You ought to inform us of such plans ahead of time. Your mother was worried sick.”

Sighing, she muttered under her breath, “We both know _that_ isn’t true.”

“Don’t you speak that way about your mother, young lady!” he hissed in a sharp tone that made her flinch. “Her dependence on spirits to get through the day is a tragedy, not something to be mocked!”

“I wasn’t mocking! Just… stating fact. Did she actually _say_ she was worried, or did she ask where I was and then forget the question?”

His eyes narrowed in her direction. “You should think a little more carefully about how you handle these topics, Weiss. We are your parents, and your sole means of support. Manners.”

“Yes, Father. Will that be all? I must tend my homework.”

“Very well.”

That went a lot better than it could have. But something else occurred to her. She was halfway turned around to climb the stairs when she thought to ask, “Oh… and I may be going out tomorrow, as well. Since it’s Saturday. But the rest of my schoolwork is caught up, and I’ll practice my singing lessons in the morning.”

“Ah, that’s a good plan; the vocal cords are fresh then.” His gloved hand waved her away as he sank back down into his chair, returning to his newspaper. “That will be all. Goodnight, Weiss.”

“Goodnight, Father.” She would have said ‘I love you’, but knew it would fall on deaf ears.


	4. Chapter 4

**=Chapter 4**

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Weiss squirmed as Pyrrha parked in front of the dilapidated-looking building. They had been given directions to a restaurant previously known as “Shopkeeper’s” for whatever reason, that now served as the main headquarters for the Dragons. She knew they had the right address, because the ink was still emblazoned across her palm from that morning. At the same time, knowing it was the right address didn’t allay her every fear, so she couldn’t expect it to do that for Pyrrha, either. Sighing, she adjusted her pink cardigan and turned to the tall girl behind the steering wheel.

“We’ll never know unless we go in there, right?”

“It’s such a rough neighbourhood,” she whispered, glancing around warily. Her own outfit was a little more conservative, a grey jacket covering the top half of her long dress that fell all the way to her ankles. “A-and they terrify me. But if you’re sure they won’t hurt us…”

“I don't think they will. I mean, we’re no threat to them in general, and Yang is… a genuinely good person.” Saying it sounded so true that she knew examining that was futile. “So she won’t let anything bad happen, anyway.”

Nodding, Pyrrha turned off the engine and adjusted her ponytail. They almost looked like they were trying to be twins, given that their hairstyle and outfits were so similar. “My parents would ground me for a thousand years if they caught me doing this…”

“Don’t you want to live a little?”

“No!”

Laughing, Weiss got out of the car. Pyrrha could be such a stick in the mud sometimes - and that was coming from a real prude such as she.

The inside of Shopkeeper’s was actually fairly well-maintained, even if the outside and the entryway were filthy and gutted, the windows blacked out. It was dimly-lit but as tidy as the bar Yang had taken her to previously. Several round tables littered the main space, but some of the dining floor had been cleared away for the purposes of dancing, and one corner now played host to a pool table. A jukebox played softly in another corner, even if the multicoloured lights along its surface flickered now and then. No one was smoking; that seemed to take place outside, as with many restaurants, even though the purpose of this one had clearly changed. The bar was well-stocked, and an older woman with multiple tattoos tended the drinks as the denizens relaxed.

As it turned out, there were a few more Dragons than they realised. Not many, but the girls Weiss saw in the halls of Beacon High weren’t their full complement, as she had wrongfully assumed. Most of the new faces were older faces. Three ladies that were at least old enough to be her mother sat around one of the tables, laughing and slapping their thighs as a younger girl with brown hair, buzzed nearly down to the scalp, delivered them another round before heading back to the bar.

“Well… fudge,” Pyrrha breathed. “There are so many!”

“It’s okay,” Weiss whispered to her as they shuffled very slowly into the room. More than ever, she felt self-conscious in her saddle shoes and skirt; they definitely didn’t suit the atmosphere. But trying to wear anything else would have been a less than authentic representation of who she was. “Just… act natural.”

“You owe me for this, Weiss. I mean… a _huge_ hot fudge sundae.”

Just then, a voice cried out, “The princess has arrived! And she brought a snack!”

As a few of them laughed, Cinder Fall approached from the wings, hands on her hips and stepping lively. This time, she was wearing black jeans and a red top that covered next to nothing. She had left her leather jacket draped over the back of a chair.

“H-hello again,” Pyrrha offered with a hopeful smile.

“Who asked you to come? The invitation was for one.”

“And I appreciated it,” Weiss cut in before Pyrrha could be too upset by the summary dismissal. “But I thought my friend might want to come see what this place is like, as well. That’s not a big deal, is it?”

“It is.”

“Oh.”

“Whatever,” Cinder sighed, waving for both of them to follow. “If Salem kicks you out, that’s it, but she probably won’t care. Bringing in extra _men_ is what typically boils her oil.”

Just as they arrived at the table, seeing that Emerald and Coco were absent but Blake was relaxing with a beer, Weiss asked, “So… is Yang here? I thought she said she would be.”

“What’s your hurry? She’s in with Salem, kissing her boots.”

“Oh? In a back room or something?” When Cinder only shrugged carelessly and dropped into her chair again, Weiss nodded and took one of the other chairs. “Ah.”

“Don’t worry,” Blake assured her with a less cruel smile than her companion. “It won’t be long. Since Yang’s our leader at the school and on certain turf, she has to report to Salem and compare notes, stuff like that.”

Something confused Weiss. “I thought she was the Dragon. And the leader. So… if she’s _not_ the leader, and this Salem is, then why…?”

Cinder sighed, sipping at her martini. Weiss noticed Pyrrha looking horrified that girls their age were drinking so heavily, but at least she was making no comment. “You really don’t know, do you? Might want to ask her yourself. But let’s just say Yang’s not the first Dragon; she’s the _current_ one.”

“Ah,” Pyrrha spoke up at last. “So it’s like being class president?”

Both of the Dragons just stared at her.

Luckily, they didn’t need to elaborate or segue into another topic. A door creaked open some distance from them, and out walked Yang with another gangster at her side. This Dragon had mottled patches of skin and a long red-brown ponytail, and standing next to Yang, she looked quite short. They exchanged a few words, and then turned in their direction.

“Oh boy,” Blake sighed.

“I think it’s cute,” Cinder muttered, though that was all she said before the two had arrived at their table. “Welcome back, Boss. Ilia.”

“You made it,” Yang said with a slight smile. Of course, she was back to being a little more gruff now that she was around her gang again, but that was fine; Weiss expected as much. “And… who… the hell?”

“This is Pyrrha,” Weiss said, gesturing toward her and pausing while she bowed her head slightly. “I needed a ride, and thought this might be a good opportunity for my friends to meet.”

“Ooh, ‘friends’,” Cinder mocked, and Blake snorted. “What an ice cream social we’re having here.”

“Down, Cindy,” Yang sighed, which did actually shut her up post haste. “It’s cool. But if you bring any more people, it might be wiser if you ran it past me first. But Pyrrha seems okay.”

As Weiss was sighing in relief, the short stranger moved to sit in a vacant chair next to Blake. “Um, so is there anything I can get you?”

“I’m good,” Blake said casually.

“You sure? I think Kali is cooking today, a-and she’s a pretty fantastic cook.”

Blake just stared at her for a minute. “You know that’s my _mom,_ right? I’m fairly aware of how good her cooking is.”

Instantly, Ilia was beet red and looking down at her fists where they rested on her knees. Cinder let out another chuckle into her glass as she drained it, and Yang rolled her eyes.

“Okay. Sorry, I’ll… get back to work.” Flashing an awkward smile, Ilia peeled herself out of the seat and hurried up to the bar. Weiss felt awful for the girl, but it was also none of her business, so she kept silent.

“Never mind her,” Yang said as she plopped down on Weiss’s other side. Luckily, they were sat in the two chairs that would normally be reserved for Emerald and Coco, or the table would have been very overcrowded. “She’s new and still tries to kiss up to the seniors. Doesn’t know her place yet. But I think she’ll do alright.”

“I don’t recognise her from school,” Pyrrha said. “But she’s about our age, isn’t she?”

“Goes to Signal High,” Blake grumbled. She definitely didn’t sound thrilled to still be talking about this. “On the other side of the tracks. Sad when joining the Dragons is a step up.”

“Shut up,” Cinder snapped, standing to refresh her martini on her own. “The Dragons are the best thing about this godforsaken town.” Then she was gone.

“Wow,” Weiss breathed. “What’s getting _her_ goat?”

Yang shrugged, snaking an arm around Weiss’s back. The presence did make her feel a little less nervous about this entire situation, but now she felt more nervous about other people seeing them be affectionate than about the affection itself. “Who knows with her? Always crabby.”

“Not always,” Blake said. “Just… _almost-_always.” Then she turned to Pyrrha. “So what about you? Decathlon star, or something, right? Why would you come down to our rathole?”

“To give Weiss a ride,” she answered.

“But you’re still here. I mean, were you hoping to get a look at how the wrong half lives?”

Pyrrha’s already-strained face became further saddened. “Please, don’t think that. My parents donate every year to the Restoration Project.”

“Great,” Yang put in, leaning back a little more. Weiss felt the draw to slide sideways and rest against her shoulder, but resisted for the time being. “All we need is someone coming in, trying to bulldoze Shopkeeper’s. Then we’d have to find a new spot.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t- well, they’re just doing their best to-”

“We know,” Blake cut her off. “And I do know a couple poorer families who have a nicer place now because of that project. Just… doesn’t always work out great for everyone, that’s all.”

Now Pyrrha looked thoroughly depressed, and Weiss felt it was her own fault. So she put in, “Yeah. Helps a lot of families. And anyway, at worst they would probably just demand you get this place up to code, not tear it down; it looks solid enough.”

“Maybe,” she conceded with a small chuckle and a smile.

“Let’s grab some grub,” Yang grunted, pushing to stand. “Blake, you want anything? We both know how you hate to bother her while she’s working.”

The Italian Dragon gave an indifferent shrug, but her eyes said something else entirely. They were almost embarrassed, but if Weiss were to give it a name, she would call the expression concerned-yet-annoyed. But all she said was, “Fries.”

“Got it. Keep my friend entertained.”

“Sure,” she snorted with a glance over. Pyrrha gulped.

It didn’t take them long to cross the restaurant and push their way through the swinging doors into the kitchens. A few Dragons were in there, though none of them wore leather jackets while working on the food orders. An olive-skinned woman who forcibly reminded Weiss of Blake was reprimanding one of them on her burger-forming technique as they watched.

“Is… _everyone_ here a woman?” Weiss asked Yang in an undertone.

“Yeah. Kind of our thing, right? Though guys aren’t technically banned; we just make them feel so unwelcome they choose to leave on their own. Not even on purpose.” Her arm looped around Weiss’s neck and dragged her along toward the chef. “We’re just sooooo hospitable.”

“Why, hello,” Kali Belladonna said as she smiled across at them, hands clapping in front of her ample chest that was outlined all too well by her thin shirt - and lack of anything underneath. Weiss tried not to glance downward, but they were just _out there_. “Who’s this we have here? Fresh blood?”

“Nah, not really. Kali, this is Weiss Schnee.”

Her eyebrows went up a little higher. “Not the daughter of _the_ Schnees? Wow, you really don’t have any idea where you are right now, do you?”

“I’m perfectly aware.” A half-beat later, she remembered her manners and added, “But it’s nice to meet you.”

“Sweet young woman. Even if she’s eyeing my tits like a death row inmate.” When Weiss flushed and looked away, she chuckled and turned back to Yang. “What’ll it be?”

“Some fries. Oh, and you got any of that barbecue pork left?”

“All gone, I’m afraid. Right now, we have… burgers coming up, a pot of minestrone, and a big chocolate cake in the fridge.”

“What do you think? Burgers again?” After a heartbeat of silence, she snapped her fingers. “Yo, Weiss!”

Blinking rapidly, she stammered, “O-of course! Though I… wouldn’t mind trying the minestrone.”

That choice seemed to please Kali. She had a feeling that if Blake smiled more often than once in a blue moon, the family resemblance would be more obvious. “If I’d known someone with actual _class_ was coming, I’d have made my garlic tortellini. But alright, I can fetch you a cup of soup.” In an undertone, she told Yang, “Hang onto that one.” Though she didn’t trouble to keep her voice down, and sent a little wink at Weiss before turning back to the stove.

“Awww, she likes you,” Yang teased the red-faced girl. “Maybe you’ll get a better look at her tits later if you play your cards right.”

“Quiet, you.”

Soon enough, they were heading back to the main area. Yang had a fairly large hamburger that looked good, but different from the one at Junior’s; a larger patty, no sesame seeds on the bun. Weiss’s cup of soup was steaming and in the middle of a plate with oyster crackers ringing the cup itself.

The table was a little more crowded when they got back to it. And Weiss was rather shocked at the activity taking place there.

“Isn’t this better?” Cinder was asking, arm looped around Pyrrha’s shoulders to hold her in her lap. The grey jacket was now on the back of the chair and Pyrrha seemed to be wearing a Dragon instead. She looked as if she wanted to expire on the spot; Weiss honestly couldn’t tell if she was flattered or horrified by the attention, because the polite girl looked so concerned with not doing anything that might upset the insistent woman.

“Y-yes, of course. Thank you.”

Sighing, Yang plopped into her chair from before. “Go home, Cinder, you’re drunk.”

“I can’t. I’m showing this tall sweetheart a good time. Aren’t I, sweetheart?”

“You’re certainly trying,” Weiss’s friend laughed nervously.

“You know,” she went on, her other hand drifting up to let the back of her index finger graze along Pyrrha’s now-bare bicep, “there are a few… _private booths_ in the back room. Normally, we can’t use them; that’s for the elders only. But Salem likes me. We could get better acquainted.”

“No, thank you.” When Cinder’s eyes flashed, she added, “I, um… I’m happy here, getting to know all of you!”

“Yeah, Cinder,” Blake put in, also a little tipsy but clearly with more pure intentions than those of her fellow thug. “She likes all of us. Don’t hog her all to yourself; let her hang out.”

Shrugging as if it didn’t matter to her, Cinder settled in again and pet up along Pyrrha’s neck. “Is there anyone at school you’re interested in a _teensy_ bit more than others, perhaps?”

“Well… if you mean do I have a crush, I don’t, really. Though…”

“Though?”

Pyrrha gulped, and she shivered from the touch. Weiss was beginning to get angry, even if she was also curious what kind of reactions her friend would keep having if this went unchecked. “Th-there is this boy, in my algebra class; he’s k-kind of a square and not very good at math, but I can t-tell he’s trying his best…”

“Oh,” she sighed in disgust, withdrawing entirely to her own personal space and grasping her martini glass. “A _straightie_.”

Though the word was flung like a curse word, Yang chuckled, “Why are you surprised? Most of the girls at Beacon are straight. You tested a lot of them yourself.”

“Sue me. Tall, leggy pin-up goddess like this one is _wasted_ on men.”

Whereas the physical attentions had seemed to turn Pyrrha into a nervous wreck, those words did a lot more to bring an honest blush to her cheeks. “Goddess? _Me?”_

“Sure,” Cinder purred, turning bedroom eyes in her direction that made _Weiss_ feel less comfortable, even without being their target. “Have you ever seen yourself in the mirror? Not just those legs, either; pretty big honeydews.”

“H-honeydews?” It was Blake who reached over and poked a single finger into Pyrrha’s breast, and she instantly shrank in on herself. “Oh… I… oh.”

“Hey,” Yang spoke up, just as Weiss had been about to. “Maybe ease off her a little, huh?”

“Why?” Cinder demanded. “She’s in _our space._ She needs to learn how things work here.”

“They work by making everybody uncomfortable and like they don’t have any right to say ‘no’, huh? News to me. I thought we were the Dragons, not the _predators.”_

This time, her eyes smouldered in a completely different way as she glared at her leader. “Dragons _are_ predators.”

“Actually, Komodo dragons are cannibals. You want _me_ to eat you?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” she muttered with a slight smirk. But in this case, it was clear the forceful woman was entirely joking; she had no such designs on the Dragon herself.

“Um…” Pyrrha held up her hand. “I would like to not be eaten at all?”

Though Weiss had been afraid the comment was going to annoy the others, instead it made them laugh. Blake leaned over and pounded Pyrrha on the back, which finally got her to titter along with them. Weiss relaxed and began to dig into her soup.

* * *

The night wore on. Though Yang did kiss the side of Weiss’s head a few times, she made no more forward overtures than those; they simply enjoyed each other’s company. Once the newness of Pyrrha and Weiss’s presence wore off, the others began to talk of internal Dragon matters that weren’t so secret they minded outside ears hearing them, and other casual topics of conversation such as the weather, local sports, and who was dating whom.

Other Dragons drifted in and out. Ilia came back and buzzed around Blake’s ears for a little while, and the other girl tolerated the attention fairly well, but Cinder ran her off with a few snide comments. That time, Pyrrha spoke up on her behalf but was largely ignored. Emerald showed up a little later, having had dinner with her family. The other server, whose named turned out to be Vernal, dropped by and chatted with them a little, though she didn’t seem to much care for Weiss or Pyrrha and went back to serve the others soon after.

At some point, Salem emerged. Weiss never got a decent look at her, because she was wearing an actual _cloak -_ like something out of a movie. She spoke with the bartender for a moment, then slipped out the back door and into the night. No one else remarked on this, so she didn’t feel comfortable doing so herself.

Then things took a turn for the more depressing.

The instant Coco showed up with a friend in tow, the atmosphere shifted. All focus was pulled to them, and though the jukebox continued to play softly, no one spoke as the two approached the table in the corner. The way the smaller, meeker girl at her side was sobbing and being cradled by both of Coco’s arms had everything to do with that budding tension.

“Shit,” Cinder whispered.

“What is it?” Weiss breathed to Yang. But Yang only held up a hand, lowering it again as they finally got close enough to speak.

And it was Coco who did. “They’re moving.”

“Oh no,” Blake breathed. The others didn’t speak, merely tensed.

“I t-tried to talk them out of it,” the mousy girl whispered, long brown hair swishing as she shook her head violently, fat tears glistening on their way down her cheeks. She had an accent that Weiss couldn’t quite place right away, but she sounded British. “They say it’s f-for the best. That I haven’t been d-doing that well in Vale, anyway… I… I don’t want to go back!”

As she broke down completely again, she turned and shoved her face against Coco’s shoulder. Emerald and Blake stood to pet up and down her back, offering what comfort they could.

“What’s happening?” Pyrrha whispered to Cinder.

“Shh,” she said, but it was devoid of her usual bite and nastiness. The concern was only for one of their number who was suffering.

When they had the two sat down in another booth a little ways off, Emerald and Blake staying with them, Yang explained, “Velvet’s from Australia, and her parents want to move back. Uh… and we’re pretty sure it’s because they know she’s going with Coco, even though they don’t have any proof.”

“Fooling around with all of us,” Cinder grunted. “I’d have kept my hands off if I knew it would lead to this.”

“We don’t know that for sure. Just… they’ve been dropping hints.”

“That’s awful,” Pyrrha whispered. “Do they really think changing locations will change who their daughter is?”

At that, Cinder looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not going to start talking about God? About His plan for us, how we’ve strayed? Leviticus and whatever? Your father’s a preacher, if I’m not mistaken.”

“He’s a parishioner. And my father doesn’t believe in focusing on all the fire-and-brimstone parts of the Bible; he says focusing on negative things is not God’s way, and it’s not his way.” Then she shrugged her shoulders, self-conscious now. “Though… I don’t know how he’d feel about me hanging around with…”

“With what?” No response. “Go on, say it. With bulldykes.”

“I would _never_ say that.”

Cinder chuckled harshly. “You really wouldn’t, would you? Might be biased, but there’s not a mean bone in your body. The Dykey Dragons would swallow you whole if you keep coming back here.”

_“Hey,”_ Yang said, and this time her sharp tone conveyed everything she needed to say. Even Weiss flinched, simply because she was so close to her. Cinder’s lips tightened for a second, but then she went back to drinking, no longer needling Pyrrha about her parents and their beliefs.

But eventually, Pyrrha surprised them by speaking up. “It’s alright. I… don’t understand much about what I’ve seen today, a-and what Weiss has been telling me. It’s only right that I listen, to try to understand.”

Yang nodded a few times. “Pretty decent of you. Most of the people you go to church with would probably just shove us in a muddy ditch. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“They wouldn’t! I mean… I _hope_ they wouldn’t.”

“They would,” Cinder said very shortly, voice hollow. As if speaking from experience.

“_I_ wouldn’t. And neither would my father and mother.” Her hand fell to Cinder’s forearm on the table top. “But I’m sorry if-”

Cinder jerked away, standing up and downing the rest of her drink before she went to the bar. Though Yang sighed, she made no other comment right away; only moved her leftover chips around on her plate.

“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha breathed.

“Don’t be,” Yang sighed. “Cinder’s always like that, especially when it comes to straighties. Religion and stuff. She, uh… she’s had a pretty crummy life until now. The Dragons really do mean everything to her.”

Weiss couldn’t help saying, “Then she might try being less rude to everyone.”

“Oh, she might,” Yang said with a slight smile. “I sure as hell try to loosen her up. But she’s just… yeah, real serious. I think she could be _the_ Dragon someday, if I ever got out.”

“Got out? Are you leaving Vale?”

“No, not Vale. Just… the gang. But I don’t think I really want that; it’s just tempting sometimes.” Her smile turned a little wry. “Maybe I’ll marry you and we can play tennis all day.”

While Weiss was laughing, Pyrrha looked a little confused. “Marry? But you can’t. I mean, not legally.”

“Ain’t you ever heard of a Boston Marriage?” Yang chuckled. “Maybe we’ll move to Boston. I don’t know, maybe they don’t still do that.”

“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha whispered. “I didn’t mean to imply… well, of course you can live together. As friends, as far as anyone else is concerned.”

Propping her boots up on the table, Yang sighed and stared at the ceiling for a long moment. Then she whispered, “You think maybe, in the future, we’ll be able to get married? Weirdos like us, I mean.”

“Maybe,” Pyrrha said quietly.

“Not with Eisenhower in office,” Weiss grunted. “All he cares about is the Russians and his precious nukes.”

“That might not be entirely fair; he did sign the Civil Rights Act. So maybe…”

* * *

That topic kept them bantering back and forth for the better part of an hour. Eventually, Pyrrha began to yawn, so she asked Weiss if she wanted a ride back. Yang was so eager to offer to drop her at home herself that Weiss almost laughed, but she declined the offer.

“Awww, why not?”

“Because I think it might be smart if my father actually _sees_ Pyrrha dropping me off for once,” she said as she dusted off her knees. Pyrrha was just finishing off the milkshake Kali had whipped up for her and sliding it to the middle of the table. “Since I’m using her as my alibi.”

Shaking her head, the tall ginger said, “I wish you wouldn’t put it that way; we haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Try telling my family that. Mother would probably just tell me to be safe before she poured herself another glass of cordial, but Father…” Deciding not to go down that road, she said, “And my big sister is away at State, learning how to be a congresswoman or something, but she’d probably box my ears, too.”

“Glad to hear I’m so likeable,” Yang said with a grin, though the tone was slightly bitter. Then she glanced at Pyrrha. “Where are you going?”

Freezing on her way to the other corner, she said, “Oh… I… well, I was going to offer my condolences to Velvet. Would that… not be welcome?”

“Nah, go on. She could use all the cheering up she can get right about now.”

With Pyrrha gone, Weiss turned and pecked Yang on the cheek. “Sorry we didn’t get much time to ourselves. But hey, at least we got to hang out for most of the day.”

“True,” Yang sighed, sliding her arm around Weiss’s waist as they watched Pyrrha approach the booth. Her pulse ticked up a few notches at their closeness, but that was getting a bit more tolerable now; she didn’t feel like it was a full-on panic attack every time Yang cuddled her anymore. “And your pal there is pretty alright. Reminds me of Velvet when she first started coming. A little of you, too.”

“Me? How so?”

“She’s your friend; you should know the ways you two are peas in a pod.”

Dipping her head, she laughed, “I guess so. But I like to think that none of us are this one thing or that one thing. I hate being boxed in.”

“Hey, you’re preachin’ to the choir, Schnee. Being a Dragon… it really cut me off from some things I wanted to do.”

“Like what?”

“Oh…” She shrugged, and Weiss could tell she was a little more nervous about continuing that topic. “Well, it was great for learning how to work on cars, being strong, stuff like that. And the girls have my back. But my grades are terrible. Like… I feel dumb every minute I’m in class. Most of the other Dragons don’t get that; Blake does, but it’s easy for _her_ to do all her homework in class. I’m not that quick on the uptake.”

“Yang… we could, um… study together, if you want. Pyrrha’s an even better tutor than me. You don’t have to give up just because you’re a _brute._”

The gentle emphasis made Yang smile, and she kissed Weiss’s forehead. She had to hum from the contact; it was sweet, intimate. Caring. When was the last time anyone paid her that kind of attention?

“Thanks, Schnee. I’ll think about it.”


	5. Chapter 5

**=Chapter 5**

By Monday morning, Weiss was eagerly looking forward to seeing Yang again. If someone had told her a month ago - or even a _week_ \- that she would care this much about one of the Dragons, no matter which one, she would have called them a lunatic, or told them to sit on it. Yet there she was, eyes sweeping the hallways for the long, flowing waves of gold that made her heart beat faster, even if she still wasn’t sure why.

No luck. Yang was absent that day.

By lunch, she was worried enough that she went over to the Dragons’ table. A few of them looked stunned that she was so openly approaching them in front of the entire student body, but at least Blake was smiling instead of scowling or shocked.

“Hey, Schnee. Come to slum with us?”

“As if you can afford to breathe my air,” she said simply, and Cinder scowled. However, the others laughed, seeing it for the joke it was. “Actually, I was worried about Yang. Didn’t she show up today?”

Everyone glanced between each other. She had a feeling she was edging into a private, members-only matter, but had no way of knowing that for sure without confirmation.

“Out sick,” Coco said shortly.

“The rockin’ pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu,” Emerald added, and Cinder snorted. Blake and Coco giggled a little, though Weiss could tell by now that none of them were all that amused; just trying to entertain themselves.

No… to _distract_ themselves. It scared her a little that she could tell the difference with such ruffians, but they were clearly worried and doing their best not to worry. Sitting down in an empty seat and shocking Coco enough that she blinked and drew her head back, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Blake said.

“No, something is. Maybe you don’t want to tell me, but… can you at least tell me if there’s anything I can do to help?”

Sneering, Cinder shot at her, “None of your business, Princess. Go back to where the streets are paved with gold and stop acting like you care.”

“Cinder…” Sighing, Blake turned back and said, “Sorry, Weiss. Internal stuff.”

That wasn’t very satisfying, but it was more forthcoming than the others had been. It also at least confirmed what she had guessed: this was a Dragons matter and outsiders were not permitted to know. Trying to pump them for more information would just piss them off - even Blake, who was less short with her than the others. So she took another tack.

“That’s alright. I hope she… feels better? Less boogie-woogie?”

That at least earned her a snort from Coco. “We’ll pass that along.”

“Thanks. Oh, by the way - can you tell me which one is her sister? I keep meaning to ask Yang but I always forget.”

“Huh?” Blake asked, clearly wrongfooted by the question. “Oh… uh, that’s her, over near the lunch line. Wearing that stupid red hood.”

“Double-thanks. And Coco?” The woman only tilted her sunglasses down to see her a little better. “I’m… sorry.”

The sunglasses tilted back up. She didn’t acknowledge what Weiss said otherwise, but she knew she was in pain and trying not to show it. The last thing she wanted to do was push.

The girl in the red hood was seated at a table with another girl whose orange-hued bobbed cut was topped by a pale pink bow, freckles on her cheeks aglow as she talked pleasantly. She reminded Weiss of that boy from Pep Comics, except female; she couldn’t recall his name since her parents disapproved of comic books after her father read some book by a psychiatrist that explained how they would “corrupt children”.

“Excuse me,” she said cautiously, leaning to one side just enough that she could see the girl’s chin past the fabric of her hood. The carrot top blinked and fell silent. “Um… are you Yang Xiao Long’s sister?”

“Oh great,” the girl sighed, turning to look up at her. She was very sweet-faced and pale, much like her sister, but her hair was brown. However, her eyes couldn’t be more different; a shade of silver that she had never seen before. “What did she do _now?”_

“No, nothing. I just… well, she’s not in school today, and I’m worried about her.” Belatedly, she added, “I’m Weiss, by the way.”

That changed the mood entirely. The girl blinked a few times and her head snapped back in shock, much like Coco's had done. “Weiss _Schnee?_ I mean, uhhh… why are you talking to _me?”_

“Did… I not…” Turning to the other girl, she demanded, “I said I’m worried about her sister, didn’t I?”

“You did!” she replied promptly with a vaguely pleasant smile.

“Penny!” Yang’s sister breathed softly. “We can’t just talk to Weiss Schnee! She’s like… a _Schnee,_ y’know?”

Weiss folded her arms over her chest. “Just what is _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Well, u-uhh… I… didn’t mean anything by it, just like, you’re really neat, and pretty, a-and rich, and a _senior_, and you just have no reason to care about some cubes like us, so it’s not- I mean, why would we think you wanted to talk to us? So it makes more sense to… t-to-”

“To wait and see what she says to us?” Penny guessed.

“Yeah! Yeah, that’s it.”

“Then why don’t you wait and see what she says to us?”

Once confronted with the simplicity of that suggestion, the girl fell silent, seeming to shrink back into her hood as she stared down at her tray.

“It’s okay, really,” Weiss laughed uncomfortably. “Why don’t we try… Penny. What is your friend’s name?”

Penny’s clear blue-green eyes blinked a few times, then she turned to lean in and whisper, “Ruby, should I tell her your name?”

While Ruby was just staring across at Penny in sheer disbelief, Weiss covered her mouth to suppress another giggle. A second later, she sighed, then turned back to say, “Y-yeah. I’m Ruby Rose. It’s nice to meet you, even though I don’t know why- wait, wait… I remember, you were asking about Yang. Right? Is that right?”

“Right,” she sighed in relief.

“Okay! Um, I don’t know why you want to know, but uh, I don’t know, either.”

“Huh? How can you not know? You’re sisters.”

“I live with my Uncle Qrow,” she explained, pushing her food around her tray with her fork. “Yang lives with her mom. Been that way since _my_ mom died; neither of them wanted to take in both of us, so they split the duties.”

Weiss’s heart sank to hear that. Their family situation sounded extremely complicated; same father, different mothers, unless she was misinterpreting Ruby’s words. Still, she didn’t want to make the girl feel any worse, or to let on how little she really knew about the biker who was steadily winning her over. “That’s unfortunate. I thought you _both_ lived with her mom. Where… is your father?”

“Dad left,” she said casually. “When I was pretty little. Yang told me he and Mom were fighting a lot about who would get us, and I think he really wanted custody, but Mom was stubborn. And now he lives on the other side of the world. But… that was before she got sick.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry, I didn’t… Yang never…”

“She doesn’t talk about it much anymore.” Her smile was melancholy but resigned; she had clearly worked out her feelings on the matter many years ago. “But I still see her at school, so… that’s fine. Do you mind if I ask a funny question?”

“Funny ‘ha-ha’, or…?”

“How do you know Yang? Because I gotta say, you don’t look much like the rest of her, um, _friends.”_

Glancing over at the Dragons table, where Emerald was currently standing on the table with a tray balanced on top of her head while the others laughed, Weiss said, “Oh… I guess that’s true.”

“Are you a special friend?”

“What?” Getting what she meant, she turned to look at Ruby. “W-well, I- that’s not- we’re friends, yes.”

“What _kind_ of friends?”

“Are you writing a book or something?!” Weiss cried in exasperation. “Good friends, that’s all! We played tennis together on Friday.”

Her eyes went completely round. “YANG played TENNIS?!”

* * *

The three of them had a fairly companionable chat that lasted through the rest of lunch. Pyrrha eventually caught up with her, and only seemed vaguely hurt that she had been passed over in favour of the new acquaintances. Meeting Penny and Ruby did seem to help, however, and they were still talking on their way through the halls until they needed to split up for classes.

After thinking about it all day, Weiss came to a decision. If she was going to profess to care about Yang and her life, she would have to start proving it in some way or another. And she couldn't do that with Yang not even in school.

“Ruby!” she called out on her way through the halls, jogging just a little to catch up. The girl whipped around, alarmed at being singled out; Penny wasn’t with her. “Hey!”

“O-oh! Weiss, it’s you!”

Panting a little, she came to a stop next to her. “Sorry… but I wanted… wanted to ask you one more thing.”

“What’s up?”

“This may be crossing some sort of boundary, but… would you mind giving me Yang’s address?”

Ruby did look less at ease with this question than the others, and turned away briefly. “Oh…” She squirmed, looking down at the hem of her skirt. “That might not be a good idea… why do you wanna know?”

“Because I want to check on her. That’s all. I’m probably worried about nothing, of course, but I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t at least try.”

“Well, I guess you know what you’re getting into already, so…” Taking out her notebook, she scribbled the address on a corner of a page and tore it off, handing it to Weiss. She was amused to see she had dotted the “i” in “Anima Lane” with a little heart.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Bye!”

“Ruby?” When the girl hesitated, she said, “I, um… well, I hope to see you around.” It was a very awkward way of stating it, and sounded somewhat insincere despite her intentions.

But Ruby didn’t seem to take it that way. Beaming, she waved a little before skipping off with her armful of books. Probably to be picked up by her uncle, or else catch the bus. She would have to find out more about her another time, when she didn’t have something else pulling her entire focus.

* * *

This time, Pyrrha elected to stay in the car. Weiss could tell she was taking a little too much advantage of her willingness to go along with her crazy schemes, so she promised herself to dial it back in the near future.

“If I’m not back in five minutes, send in the clowns,” Weiss sighed as she opened the door of her Studebaker. “Just… it’ll be fine.”

“Sure it will,” Pyrrha sighed as they both gazed up at the house. It had once been a fine place to live, several owners ago. The lawn was overgrown, the dark red paint dingy and peeling, and one of the upstairs windows had a broken pane. If not for the car in the drive, it would be easy to assume it was condemned.

Weiss knocked a few times, and no one answered. She sighed. Maybe this had been a mistake; after all, Yang had never indicated that she was welcome in her home. There could be any number of reasons for that. Should she leave and come back another time, after she had Yang’s blessing?

“Alright,” she sighed, knocking one last time-

And the door fell in. Weiss leapt backward in shock; she hadn’t been knocking _that_ hard! Once the loud thud had stopped echoing through her bones, she gaped down at the slab of wood now lying on the floor of the entryway. It certainly wasn’t moving anymore. Stepping onto it, she craned her neck this way and that, hoping to catch sight of anyone inside the domicile.

“Hello? Anyone home?” No answer, of course. She paced in a little further, turning the corner to explore the living room. “Sorry about your door; I think you might have termites or so-”

The sound of a _click_ stole both her breath and her attention. Turning slightly to her right, she saw a tall, grim woman with hair much like Yang’s - except blacker than midnight. Her eyes were like whirlpools of blood, and her mouth was pulled into a taut line. But the most interesting thing about her had nothing to do with her looks or her clothing.

The handgun with the hammer pulled back was much more alarming.

“You’ve got five seconds to get the hell out of my house.”

“M-Missus-” The gun raised to point straight at her face. “YANG! I w-was just coming to see Yang!”

“I don’t care. Three, two…”

Weiss ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Maybe they could have talked things out, and maybe they couldn’t. But she didn’t want to run the risk of death simply to see if Yang was feeling under the weather.

She voided her stomach in the gutter next to Pyrrha’s car. Given that this was her first true brush with death, her constitution didn’t know how to handle it properly. Her friend got out to hold her hair out of the way, alternately telling her everything was alright and asking why it might not be. Only once they were back in the car and driving away did she explain what happened through a veil of her tears.

“Th-that’s unacceptable! I mean, no - that’s _criminal!_ She shouldn’t have a pistol in the first place, much less point it at… at unsuspecting girls!”

Still shaking, Weiss whispered, “It… was my fault. I shouldn’t have gone in without… without waiting for…”

Fresh tears took over her voice, and conversation became entirely useless until they got to Pyrrha’s house. They weren’t exactly neighbours, but it was a short five-minute walk between their homes. The two girls quickly stole upstairs into Pyrrha’s room so they could discuss things with relative privacy.

“So Ruby neglected to mention that Yang’s mother is a criminal, too,” Pyrrha sighed.

“She did. Though I wouldn’t say Yang is a ‘criminal’, per se… or maybe she is. I don’t know.” Pulling her knees in a little closer to her chin, she asked, “Am I crazy?”

“Why would you be crazy?”

“For only regretting that she didn’t let me explain. I… was too scared to do anything then, but now…”

Frowning, Pyrrha reached across the Oriental rug to pat her forearm. “No, you aren’t. But I do think you should let the matter drop; just wait for her to show up in school tomorrow.”

Sniffing loudly, she tried to dry her tears and stop panicking. The crisis was over. “Yeah. Sorry you had to watch me get sick in the gutter.”

“It’s alright,” she said with a slight laugh. “These things happen.”

After a moment or two, Weiss noticed Pyrrha looked thoughtful, her eyes pointed at where her hand rested atop Weiss’s arm. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

“What? Oh… nothing. Just wondering something.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“Probably not.” A brief pause as the taller girl collected her thoughts, staring at her own pale yellow socks. “Um… am I far off when I say… you do have romantic feelings for Yang at this point?”

“I… maybe,” she forced herself to say aloud. It wasn’t easy. “I think so.”

“Alright. Her being a woman doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course it does! But it’s… not enough to stop me, apparently. Not that I understand this any better than you do, Pyrrha.”

Nodding her understanding, she cleared her throat, playing with the knee of her long skirt. “Then why haven’t you ever…”

“Ever what?” she finally prompted, several seconds later.

“Why haven’t you wanted to kiss me?”

“_What?!”_

“Sorry!” Pyrrha burst out immediately, looking away with her cheeks flaming red. “Forget I said anything!”

But Weiss certainly couldn’t do that. At the absolute least, this provided a welcome distraction from dwelling on the mental image of a gun in her face. Turning to face her a little more directly, she asked, “Kiss you? I mean… is that something you’ve been wanting me to do, and I just had literally _no_ idea?”

“I have never!” she assured her, voice pleading now. “But… with what you said about Yang and Cinder, and then Cinder coming after me… why was I next? And if you like girls in that way, what's wrong with me? Am I not… not pretty enough? Or what?”

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, or what she was about to say, even as the words came out of her own mouth. “Pyrrha Nikos, I think you're jealous.”

“I am not! Really! I'm… well… m-maybe I am, but you've never talked about any of this before you started keeping company with Dragons, so… I feel like you're…” Her throat worked to swallow. “Like you're leaving me behind.”

“Oh, Pyrrha…” This time, she scooted closer and wrapped her arms tightly around her best friend. “I'm sorry. This is confusing for me, too. I guess I just didn't realise how it might be affecting you. But you're very pretty, and swell! That has nothing to do with it!”

A few sobs floated out of Pyrrha’s throat, but they petered out very quickly. She had never been one to wear a great deal of sadness on her sleeve; in her case, because it meant other people had to deal with her pain. Just one of those ways she was among the most thoughtful people Weiss had ever known.

“Hey,” Weiss finally whispered as she sat back, cupping her face. “Best friends _forever_, okay? And I'm not interested in being more, _or_ in being less. I still need you in my life, even if I am… whatever I am.”

Nodding, she rested her hand against Weiss's arm, still sniffling but already regaining control. “Thank you. I'm so sorry for… questioning that. I didn't mean to get jealous.”

“It's fine. _You're_ fine.” Pyrrha relaxed into her hand, eyes closing in contentment. “Aww… that's better, right?”

They remained like that for a minute or two before getting back to homework. Pyrrha was a lot more cheerful and back to her old self, which showed Weiss how sorely they had needed to discuss the matter. If she was going to pursue Yang - and the more time went on, the more she thought she really might - it was going to be of the utmost importance that she not lose sight of her other friendships. Especially one as strong and valuable as the one she shared with Pyrrha.

* * *

The next morning, Weiss only had the length of first period to keep worrying about Yang and the brief threat on her life. Life was getting very intense in a very short period of time. She started to wonder if everyone was right - that she was in way over her head and needed to rethink her priorities. Protect herself.

That went out the window when she found herself being slammed into a row of lockers. Her mind immediately knew that Yang's mother had found her and decided to finish her off.

Except it was Yang's furious face shouting, “You came to my _house?!”_

“Wha- OW! Yang!”

“Who said you could do that? Huh?!” A vein was standing out in strong relief against her ruddy forehead, teeth flashing as she shouted, “What the hell were you thinking, you stupid bitch?!”

“Yang, stop it!” she hissed, pushing at the forearm pushing her back into the cold metal. “I… I'm sorry, but I didn't think it would-”

“Exactly! You didn't think _at all!_ I thought I could trust you, and then you pull this kind of-”

The accusation was interrupted when Yang was yanked backward by the collar of her jacket. The slight gagging kept her quiet enough for the interloper.

“Miss Xiao Long,” a quick, clipped voice demanded. “I believe my detention hall has been rather empty of late! Let's do something about that, shall we?”

Struggling against the wiry man's grip, she snapped, “Let me GO!”

“Would you enjoy being expelled more?” Yang went slack. “That's better! Now then, let's discuss dates and times!”

It only took a second of indecision. Weiss was still reeling from the concept of Yang attacking her. The phrase “apple doesn't fall far from the tree” flashed through her mind; both Yang and her mother had threatened her within the same twenty-four hour period. Maybe this was for the best.

But the grieving look in Yang's eyes stopped that train of thought. She didn't look merely angry, either at the teacher or Weiss. The anger took a backseat to feeling betrayed and hurt.

“Mr. Oobleck!”

The spindly man paused in his attempts to wrest Yang down a neighboring hallway. “Yes, Miss Schnee? No need to thank me, none at all. These female felons have to learn that they can't behave in such a manner on Beacon High grounds without dire conseque-”

“This is my fault!”

The two of them were both shocked. Yang's face remained twisted in rage, but surprise was visible beneath the surface.

“What do you mean by that?” the teacher asked. “She was clearly the one being physically violent! Dreadful, simply dreadful - can't tolerate that, no matter how you provoked her with words.”

She had to think fast. What could she say that would make any difference in Yang being punished? “I… I pushed her first!” While they were both blinking at her, she rambled on, “Y-yeah, she was walking too close, and… and I shoved her and told her to watch where she was going. She was understandably upset that I acted that way. I guess I'm a little cranky today; it's my, um, _cycle_.”

While Yang was still dumbfounded, Mr. Oobleck was clearing his throat and looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Ah. Well… yes, can’t be helped, entirely not your fault - we’ll, er, consider this matter closed!” And with that, he practically zipped down the hallway at the speed of Yang’s motorcycle.

The two girls stood, tense and unsure of what else to do. Finally, Weiss sighed, “Phew. I can’t believe that worked.”

“Who asked you to lie for me?” But the minute Weiss took a step back in mild fear, Yang sighed, looking away. “Alright… it was a gusty move, Schnee. I appreciate that you tried to help and got me out of trouble. But that doesn’t make up for what you did.”

“What _did_ I do, though?” Approaching cautiously, hesitantly, she said in a quiet voice, “I’m sorry, Yang. I’ll apologise until I’m blue in the face, but I honestly have no clue what I did wrong. So until you help me understand…”

However, Yang turned on her heel and stomped away. It seemed that would be the end of their conversation. Weiss slumped backward against the lockers, wishing this new friendship didn’t require navigating a minefield.

* * *

The poor princess had to remain in the dark until lunch. As she and Pyrrha ate sombrely, the latter occasionally trying to cheer her up and falling silent when the attempts failed, she had been wondering if she should walk over to the Dragons table and see if she had better luck with asking the other girls.

As it turned out, that wasn’t necessary. Her eyes flicked up when she heard shuffling, and she was surprised to see Ruby slowly pushing a reluctant Yang across the lunchroom floor. Most of the other students were whispering or giggling at the sight.

“What on earth…?”

“Go on,” Ruby hissed when Yang was standing awkwardly by the corner of the table. She turned as if to leave or argue, but Ruby put her hands on her hips in a gesture so petulant that the average person would have thought she was the stubborn one, not Yang.

“Fine,” she grumbled as she dropped into the seat next to Weiss.

“Good. I’ll see you later, ‘gator.” Winking at Weiss, Ruby quickly returned to her seat next to Penny.

Pyrrha swallowed her mashed potatoes and said, “Sh-should I leave the two of you alone?”

“Yeah. Do that.” When she flinched, Yang added, “Sit with Rubes and her friend for a minute. Thanks.”

Once Pyrrha had delicately extracted herself from the lunch table and carried her tray over to the front of the lunchroom, Weiss turned and folded her arms. “Well?”

“Okay. What you did wasn’t great, but I know you… didn’t _mean_ to mess up. I know that. So… I’m, um…”

“Does the word you’re searching for start with an ‘s’ and end with an ‘orry’?”

“Shut up,” she grunted. “This isn’t easy. I told you, I’m still furious.”

“Alright. I’ll wait.”

And she really did wait. They both watched the contents of her tray slowly diminish as she picked at the food. Halfway through her salisbury steak, Yang whispered, “I’m sorry for shoving you. There.”

“Thank you. It hurt.”

“I know. But… what you did hurt me, too.”

“I can’t possibly see how! I just went to your house to see if you were alright!”

“And you shouldn’t have. Like… did you ever think there’s a reason I never invited you over?”

Shrugging, she hissed, “You’ve never come over to my house, either.”

“We both know why that is. Neither of us had to say ‘Mr. Schnee doesn’t like lesbian thugs’; it’s just… something we both could guess.” Her fingers idly picked at a fray in one of her fingerless leather gloves. “And you should have guessed that if my house was a place I could take you, without any problems, I’d have done that instead of bars and abandoned buildings.”

“Maybe,” she conceded quietly, still picking at her food without eating it now. “But still… I was so worried, Yang. The Dragons acted like it was no big deal, but they were also worried. I could tell under all that laughing and joking something was up.”

“Drop it, okay?” she suddenly hissed, and Weiss ducked her head. It was a strong enough reaction that the bruiser deflated. “Sorry. But this is really important; you _can’t_ do that again. Next time, she won’t count to five.”

Tears sprang to Weiss’s eyes. She hated that this was happening in the lunchroom, that all eyes were on her. Based on that, she managed to inhale sharply and dry her tears before they fell. “I can’t believe you’re saying this to me. I… I can’t believe… Yang, I came over because I wanted to make sure you were alright, a-and I missed you. And my life was threatened, and… and now you’re telling me _I_ was the one in the wrong?”

“Yes.”

“But I…”

One of the gloved hands rested on her forearm. “Don’t do it again. I’m fine, I promise. And… it’s hard to say when I’m hopping mad like this, but you being worried about me does mean a lot. You did the wrong thing for the right reason, I guess. But now you know better. I just have to make sure you learned the lesson.”

“Don’t ever come within a hundred feet of your mother?”

“Yeah,” she snorted humourlessly. “That’s pretty much it.”

“Crystal clear.”

Yang took her hand away, tensing as if to get up. Then she added in a hasty whisper, “We’ll talk more after school” before hurrying herself away to sit with the rest of her tribe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the delays with posting! I'm trying to get to updates as soon as I can, I promise!


	6. Chapter 6

**=Chapter 6**

“You really want the whole story?”

The two of them were seated atop the jungle gym in Vytal Park, legs swinging idly. Everything had been quiet for a while before Yang finally spoke up; by that point, Weiss had begun to fear this would be a silent occasion that consisted only of enjoying each other’s closeness.

“I do. But you don’t have to tell me anything. I just…” She shrugged, pulling one knee up higher. “You kept pushing me so hard to do more with you, go further, be a bigger part of your life. And the one time I take a step like that on my own, I get shot down. Almost _literally._ Do I not get any say in how things go? Am I just… along for the ride?”

Yang sighed. “That’s ain’t really fair, Schnee. But… it’s not completely _unfair_, either, I guess.” After a long pause spent staring at the sun over the trees, she finally said, “I didn’t come in yesterday because I was in too much pain to move.”

“Oh. Like… from what? Your cycle?” she half-joked. And Yang did laugh at it.

“Nothing like that. Usually don’t hit me very hard. Just… um…” A slight shrug. “Mom found my report card.”

Turning just a little more in her direction, she asked, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I’m flunking like, two classes. The rest I’m squeaking by, but… part of the deal of staying with her was that I wouldn’t completely fail at school. That I would get my diploma and then try to get a degree in something after that. After seeing those two F’s, she decided I needed a reminder.”

Yang’s hands moved to the shirt underneath her jacket. For a wild second, Weiss was afraid she was about to get flashed, even though that wouldn’t make much sense given the context of their conversation. When she rolled the fabric up, a few dark purple bruises were visible against her pale stomach, along her sides. Each was roughly the size of a human fist.

“Oh _no…_”

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Yang promised with a wince. “Just a couple of punches to the gut; both me and Mom can take as good as we give. But she wanted me to know that slacking in class wasn’t going to cut it in her h-”

The words cut off entirely as timid lips met the purpling flesh. Weiss felt like she was going to expire from doing so, especially in such a public setting, but she couldn’t let the sight go untended. The stomach flexed under her lips, and she pulled away a little to gaze up at Yang’s surprised face.

“I’m sorry that happened,” she breathed, seeing her shiver from the caress of her air. Apparently, Yang wasn’t the only one who could have this kind of effect on another woman.

“R-really? I’m… it’s not a big…”

“You deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. Not punched by your own mother. That’s… that is unacceptable, Yang!”

This time, she wasn’t as flattered and flustered. She looked away, hand falling to the crown of Weiss’s head as an afterthought. “Her house, her rules. And like I said, it looks way worse than it is; she felt bad about laying into me and called me in sick yesterday so I could heal up. But… that was before you came to visit.”

“Oh no,” she whispered, sitting up at last. “I made it worse, didn’t I?”

“You didn’t help much.”

“Ruby tried to warn me,” she sighed, defeated. “I just didn’t understand what she was trying to say at the time. I made your mom mad, and I wrecked your house, too.”

“Don’t worry about the door; that happens all the time. But you dropping in made for a lot of awkward questions. Now, she’s warning me not to get too attached, blaming you for my grades slipping; I told her we’d only been hanging out for a week and she seemed to let you off the hook after that. Not that it means she wants you coming around ever again.”

Sighing, she gazed down at Yang’s little navel where it lay between firm abdominal muscles. Her fingertip pushed into the tiny well of skin. “I don’t want her to hurt you anymore. I like how you are now.”

“Oooh… don’t do that.”

“What? This?”

“Y-yeahhh…” That was very nearly a groan. “It feels good in a weird way…”

That got Weiss’s hand jerking away. But a moment later, she was smiling very vaguely. “Have to admit, I never thought I would put my finger in anyone’s belly button on purpose.”

“Well, now you have,” she laughed. Still subdued, but smiling again.

“Good. Anyway, if you want me to apologise for coming to check on you, I won’t; I was well within my rights to come by your house and-”

“Enough. You didn’t know my mom and how she operates, but now you do, so… so just don’t again, okay?” Weiss nodded. “Cool. Thank you.”

As they returned to gazing at the slowly-changing leaves on the trees, the Dragon lapsed into silence again, eventually rolling her shirt down to cover her healing skin. It was a minute or two later Yang broke the silence. “This is crazy.”

“What is?”

“You and me. I never really believed… I mean, I hoped, and I wanted, but not _believed_.”

“H-hey, I still don’t know what to call what we are, anyway,” Weiss laughed, a bundle of nerves again. “Even if I did just kiss your stomach. But that’s something people do, isn’t it? Kiss boo-boos?”

Shrugging, she said, “For a kid, yeah. Or your _own_ kid. Not for your…”

Both sets of eyes met as they examined the expression opposite their own. Weiss knew hers was mild surprise, and Yang’s seemed regretful. She looked away quickly thereafter. This was something that was taking a lot of getting used to for the princess. Yang had _feelings,_ buried deep as they could be sometimes.

“Your close friend?” she guessed. No answer. “Girlfriend?”

“You said it, not me,” Yang whispered cautiously.

Clearing her throat, Weiss pushed ahead as hastily as she could, “Alright. Let’s quit moping, and… worrying about things we can’t change, anyway. Let’s just go.”

“Where?”

“To Junior’s, or the malt shop. Or…”

Yang’s eyebrow went up a fraction of an inch. “Or?”

“Or… the depot.” She bit her lip. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but she wanted to stay in Yang’s good graces, even if it wasn’t truly her fault she fell out of them in the first place.

“But I’m all bruised up,” she whispered. “When I take you there again, I want to be in top… physical… condition.” As she spoke, a fingertip grazed up Weiss’s stockinged calf, from the ankle just visible above her white penny loafer all the way to the hem of her skirt.

“Gee whiz, what on earth do you think we’re going to do in there?! I just meant… we could talk privately. And maybe - _maybe_ a little more, but not that much!”

Shaking her head, she hopped down from there to alight on the ground, turning around to gaze up at Weiss. “After what my mom did and you almost wetting yourself, you’d still trust me?”

“Of course. You only got mad because your mom did, right?”

That observation, which seemed to obvious to Weiss, took Yang by surprise. “Shit… maybe I did take it out on you because of her.”

“Exactly. So how fair would it be for me to assume if we were alone together, you would try to hurt me again? You’ve never tried to before, and even this time when you were seeing red, you only pushed me against a wall; you never threw a punch or anything like that. So… so I trust you.”

Yang’s normally-smug face looked so very sad in that instant that Weiss wanted to fly down from the top of the jungle gym and land in her arms, holding her close. “I really… _really_ shouldn’t have done that. But I’m so used to duking it out with the Dragons whenever we have a fight about something that I just… act first, think later.”

“Of course,” she sighed as she did leap down. Yang steadied her for a moment. “But you still controlled yourself mostly when you remembered I’m not a Dragon. Not yet, anyway.”

“Not y- ohhhh no. No, no, _no way_ are you joining.”

“Why not? I get along fairly well with all of you!”

But Yang didn’t truly answer. Only slung an arm around her neck and began to lead her back to her bike.

* * *

By now, the ride to Yang’s hideaway was as thrilling as before without the intense confusion. Their bodies were so close, Yang’s driving skills so confident, that she almost forgot she was with someone most of the town considered to be a delinquent. Of course, it was the prospect of what they were about to do that loomed large in her mind, filling her every nerve ending with electricity.

This time, Yang parked in back. Two crumbling walls helped hide the motorcycle from prying eyes. They circled around to the front and through the loose board, then made their way upstairs to Yang’s cozy little room.

“Are you sure there are no rats or anything?” Weiss whispered.

“There aren’t,” she sighed. “I cleaned this place up once upon a time – brought some traps and poison and stuff. No pests, I swear.”

While Yang was tidying the one or two errant leaves that had blown into the room during their time away, Weiss noticed something that did help to distract her from the prospect of what might take place if they let things get out of hand.

“Oh! You kept it here?”

“Yeah,” she laughed as Weiss picked up the solitary fuzzy slipper from next to the many candles. “I mean, I wasn’t really sure what else to do with it, but I didn’t want to bring it home. Too many questions if Raven found it.”

“Who’s Raven?”

“My mom.”

“Oh.” She set the little heel down and turned back to see Yang was sitting on the couch. “Is there a reason you don’t call her ‘Mom’?”

“Didn’t grow up with her until I was older. Summer was ‘Mom’, and Raven was just this lady that came by once in awhile to see if I was still alive.”

“That’s still unacceptable. But I guess… we can’t help the hand we’re dealt sometimes.”

But Yang didn’t seem to want to talk about her parents anymore. She patted the seat next to herself and Weiss obeyed. Her heart kept ticking up in speed, even though she was telling it not to do that. An arm looped around her waist, and she leaned against Yang more readily than she had at any point before then. Was she crazy? No… she was beginning to realise that this wasn’t crazy. It was everything she had dreamed of happening to her one day. Maybe it came from the person she least expected, but rationally, Yang was just a very exciting woman. One with waters that ran deeper than the surface; a true strength that wasn’t like the brutishness she had perceived on the surface.

“You’re still nervous,” Yang chuckled softly, eyes heavily lidded and smile lazy. “Come on, Schnee. What can the matter be?”

“I’ve never… you and I have only even kissed a couple of times, and even that was so… much. It was so much to me!”

“Yeah, I kinda figured. Nobody’s ever mentioned you having a beau before now, or even meeting a boy at the soda fountain. Can I tell you a secret?” Weiss nodded, so she leaned in to breathe into her ear, “That’s half the reason I kept teasing you.”

Swallowing hard, she whispered, “What? Really, it’s because I haven’t had a steady fella?”

“Mmm. Anytime I notice a girl never dating boys? That’s like a yellow light; I can keep going until I see a red light. Find out how far I make it.”

“And what’s…” The hand on her knee made her shiver, so she tried again. “What’s a green light?”

“When you’re a gal who likes gals, there _is_ no green light.” There was a little bitterness in her tone, even though she was still smiling, still petting up and down Weiss’s thigh. It sent tingles into places she had never felt tingles before. “Well… _this_ is a green light; you not breaking my arm for doing this. Or me asking if it’s okay. But before that, I can’t know for sure. Can’t assume anything.”

By now, Weiss was rendered mute. Blood rushed behind her ears as Yang kissed her jawline, then her neck. The hand never went anywhere other than her thigh, but that alone was plenty. Every movement they shared made her heart beat so fast she thought it might break free of her chest and race off into the sunset.

“You’re shivering,” Yang accused in a soft whisper.

“I…” No more words came, no matter how hard she searched. Why did she have to be such a coward when she needed to be brave?

“Here.” Sitting back a little, Yang took off her jacket and draped it over Weiss’s shoulders. The leather instantly warmed her, sharing Yang’s leftover body heat as it seeped into her bones. “Better?”

Weiss smiled, her face a red mess as she clutched the collar around her with both hands. “Thank you. Wow… I never expected this.”

“What?”

“You being so _gallant_. Like a prince in a fairy tale.”

Grinning toothily, she said, “It’s what a princess deserves. When it’s important, sometimes I can be less of a meathead. Oh!”

Weiss blinked rapidly as she popped up and went back to the table, returning with the slipper. “What are you doing?”

But Yang’s hands were gently raising her calf, then reaching to remove one of her penny loafers. She wanted to ask the question again, but the words stuck in her throat; this was so strange, such a completely unprecedented action. Was Yang going to stop there, or keep undressing her? One hand drifted up to ball under her chin, nervous and excited and beside herself.

“You’re so adorable,” Yang suddenly breathed, having caught that reaction. She lifted her foot and kissed the tip of her big toe through the nylon stocking, which made her breath catch again. Then she brought the slipper forward and glided it into place.

“I only have one,” she laughed shakily, knowing her cheeks were redder than ever.

“Exactly. Just like Cinderella, right?”

Her pale blue eyes went wide. “Cinderella? You aren’t just teasing, you… really think I’m some kind of princess? I’m not. I’m just a spoiled little girl who doesn’t know anything.”

“Not true. But hey, I don’t mind spoiling you. Sometimes, anyway.” She kissed her shin before rising to re-join her on the couch. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Yang debated for a moment. When she spoke again, Weiss could understand why. “When I did push you against the locker… how did you feel? Like, not just ‘scared’, but everything you thought in that minute. Really let me have it.”

“What do you mean?” But when Yang only petted up and down her back through the jacket, she tried to think through her feelings in that moment. “Um… shocked, betrayed. A little angry, maybe. Still worried about where you had been, and surprised that you were suddenly there. Afraid of what would happen if we didn’t stop arguing soon - and I was right about that one.”

“Yeah,” Yang laughed ruefully.

“That’s… that’s about it, I guess. Is there supposed to be more?”

Her other hand alighted on her knee, this time staying still. Just resting there. “You weren’t… turned on?”

“Turned on what?” Yang’s slight rising of eyebrows clued her in. _“Oh!_ Y-you mean did I- sexually? NO! What is- I’ve never felt that kind of- why would you-”

“It’s alright,” she laughed easily, taking her hand away and moving it up to cup Weiss’s cheek instead. “I guess I’ve been… wondering about that.”

“Huh? Can you lend me a clue, I… really don’t know what we’re talking about.”

“From when I first started hitting on you, Schnee. You were into my advances, but not the way most girls are. Either they weren’t interested at all, or they were _too_ interested. Like…” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “The only reason they wanted to be with me was because I was dangerous. They liked racing around on my bike, or me getting all handsy, because it was a thrill. Or they were already a dangerous girl and it was just normal for them. That was fine, I guess.”

“But I didn’t crave the danger,” Weiss supplied easily. Because she didn’t; it excited her, she had to admit, but didn’t make her want to seek out more. Wasn’t _addictive_ in that way Yang described. A lot of those comments Yang had made when they first started speaking came back to her: _‘You want me to be a brute.’_ They made total sense now, even if they turned out to be inaccurate guesses on Yang’s part.

“Yeah. Or you did a little, but it more made you… stop me if I’m wrong about any of this,” she laughed, and Weiss laughed a little, too. “It made you want to know _me._ Not just get more cheap thrills.”

Nodding her agreement came very easily. She hadn’t even thought about things this directly herself yet, but everything Yang was saying rang true. “That’s how I feel, yes. It still seems insane, but… you’re a very passionate, earnest, powerful woman. I’ve never known anyone like you, and I think you and I are… good friends? _Becoming_ good friends? And that’s without…”

Instead of finishing her thought with words, she raised a hand to alight on the one already cupping her face. Yang smiled a little wider. “Yeah. I know. And I’ve never had this before.”

“What? Of course you have.”

“I haven’t.” Yang’s shoulders rose and fell before she went on, “Any girl I made it with, I could tell they were after the thrill of the moment. Even… the one or two Dragons. We were just having fun. I could have been any other Dragon, as long as she was attractive, and it wouldn’t make much difference to them.”

The smile slid off Weiss’s face. “No… come on, you’ve- I thought you were with so many girls! And none of them were… they weren’t romantically interested, they didn’t see how incredible you are? That’s unbelievable!”

Against all odds, Yang was the one blushing now. It looked so out of place on her features, but Weiss knew that was only because she was so used to seeing confidence there. The Dragon was still a woman, after all.

“Awww, you’re so precious…” Leaning in, she pecked Yang’s cheek softly. “Well, allow me to assure you that they are the ones missing out on you. Idiots.”

“Thanks,” she half-laughed, kissing Weiss’s cheek in return. “You’re a sweetheart.”

“So are you.” When Yang snorted, she added, “I’m serious! You can be fierce _and_ a sweetheart.”

“Says who?”

“Says me. And my word is law.” She kissed her cheek again, and then again right after, and Yang grinned so wide that it lit up the rest of her face. “Look at this blonde angel!”

“Stop it!”

“I will not!” Three more kisses, one of them on her forehead, and Yang was giggling as much as Weiss. Then their lips met…

They both stilled for a moment. It had happened so naturally that Weiss couldn’t even remember the moment they had gone from cheek-kissing to this with clarity. Within a second or two, Yang’s instincts took over and she was pouring herself into the contact in much the same way as before, kneading against Weiss’s welcoming mouth. This time, she had no reservations, did not want to push Yang away. They both needed to feel every ounce of each other’s desire to try this now.

Again, Weiss felt the tingles she had felt from the hand on her thigh, even without it being there anymore. Yang’s arms were around her back, and her own were responding in kind, welcoming more, _craving_ it in the way she had not craved the danger. The intensity was the same as before without Yang needing to compensate for Weiss’s reticence anymore. They were together in that moment.

The couch rose up to meet her back and Yang was above her, pinning her to it, causing her stomach to drop away when she realised that. What would they do now? Did she want to do more? Yang wasn’t exactly advancing, not the way a boy would - seizing every opportunity that presented itself. But she was still very vaguely in command of the situation. Weiss liked it better that way, even if she had this feeling Yang would appreciate it if they tried the reverse sometime. The bashful blushing smile had told her as much.

A few minutes later, when she realised they were both rolling their hips a little, Weiss tried to figure out why. She knew why, from what she’d heard about the birds and the bees around school. But they were both women! Why would they bother to perform such actions?

“Mmhh,” Yang sighed as they parted, violet eyes staring down into her own. “You feel… a little antsy.”

“What?” she breathed, still beside herself. “What do you mean?” Hips slammed down against her own. “Ah! That’s…”

“This.”

“But what can we do about it? We’re both… a-and I’m not ready, anyway…”

Yang thought about that a moment, then shrugged. “Nothing. We can just do what we’re doing. Do you like it?”

“Yes,” she admitted, even if it brought a fresh prickling of shame into her chest. But she tried to shove that out of the way; it was inconvenient. “Yang… I’ve never felt like this for anyone in my whole life.”

“Me, either. You’re so beautiful, and sweet, and I just… I thought you would be some ice queen I could defrost if I worked hard enough at it, but you were never an ice queen at all.”

Her shoulders shrugged helplessly. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“Doesn’t matter.” She kissed Weiss’s chin, which was somehow just as intimate as kissing her lips. “I’m crazy about you. Head over heels.”

That made the princess giggle. “You stole one of my heels.”

“Slipper-heels. Those don’t count.”

“They don’t? Why not, pray tell?”

“Because they aren’t real shoes, they’re only house-shoes.”

“And that makes sense to you, hmm?” When Yang only giggled, she smiled and nuzzled their noses together. “I did worry you were going to do something weird with it.”

“Weird like what?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you were building a Weiss shrine. Maybe you just collect a single shoe from all of your past lovers.”

Now, Yang was laughing aloud, even as they nuzzled and petted over each other’s arms and backs, their hair. “You’re something else, Schnee.”

Another kiss, this one longer than the last. Their hips ground into each other, and Weiss felt some vague urges - she wanted to slip one leg up to press between Yang’s, or let Yang do that to her. But she didn’t understand why, and was too afraid to force her body to make the attempt. So they kissed, and petted, and enjoyed the warmth and closeness and the tingling that came from budding urges. Yang did wince once when Weiss petted too vigorously along one of her bruises, but otherwise seemed to take it all in stride. This woman probably knew more about how to treat another woman than any of the boys in town.

Finally, the room had grown almost entirely dark, and Yang sat back to gaze down at the shadowy form beneath her. “Damn… I was really enjoying that.”

“Oh? I m-mean… are we stopping?”

“For now. I have a meeting with Salem; we’re supposed to parley with the Huntsmen. Big thing. And… I have a feeling you and Pyrrha need to do your homework.”

“You need to do it with us,” she warned her, and Yang rolled her eyes as they sat up. “No, no, don’t act like I’m being a nag; I don’t want you getting beat up again. Come do homework with us.”

“That won’t go very well,” she sighed, rubbing at her face. “Your parents, seeing me walk in your front door?”

“Hmm… there has to be a way around this.” She tapped her chin, then struck her palm with her fist. “Pyrrha!”

“What about her?”

As they stood and got ready to leave, she went on, “Let’s try something. You park near Pyrrha’s house, leave your jacket in her car; it’ll be safe there. Then come over to mine and we’ll study there. Without the Dragons jacket, you’ll just be another friend from school there to study.”

“Well… I guess it _would_ be safe in a locked car…” Clearly, the jacket was even more important than Weiss had expected. “Or I could just leave it with you. Keeping my girl warm.”

“Your girl!” she burst out, pushing her hands into her face. Yang chuckled, though she couldn’t see her doing so. “This is crazy! I’m your girl, aren’t I? This is really happening!”

Draping an arm around her shoulders, Yang carefully led her toward the door. “Crazy or not, here we come. Weiss and Yang, Yang and Weiss.”

“Mmm… I could get used to the sound of that, I think.” Then she started. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“My shoe! I’m not going home with one slipper on!”

Laughing, Yang jogged back up the stairs and grabbed it, then returned to where they had paused halfway down them. On a lower step, she leaned over to make the switch, but Weiss made her pause halfway through.

“What?”

“Again.” She raised her foot to Yang’s face. Rolling her eyes, she kissed Weiss’s toes before sliding the loafer back into place. “Thank you.”

“Why was that necessary?” Yang laughed.

“You did it last time. I thought toe-kissing was part of the process of you changing my shoes.”

Now chortling even louder, Yang swept her into her arms once they got to the bottom of the stairwell, spinning her around in a circle and making Weiss let out a peal of titters that rang off the stone walls. Once they had calmed down and Yang was walking back to their motorcycle, she finally answered.

“You’re something else, Schnee. Really. But I’ll kiss any part of you anytime - Princess-feet and all.”

Somehow, Yang always managed to turn everything around on her like that. It was one of the ways she knew she was falling hard. _Real gone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about that long wait, my beta stepped down from the project and NaNoWriMo is in full swing so it kinda made this harder to get around to. Sorry! I'll try to get more chapters out faster.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter is NSFW for a very graphic demonstration.

**=Chapter 7 **

Yang actually _did_ show up for the study session after dinner, shocking both Weiss and Pyrrha thoroughly. Even more surprising was her outfit.

“You look… ridiculous!”

Frowning, Yang looked down at the poodle skirt and canary yellow cardigan. “What? It’s what most girls wear, right?”

“Yes, but you’ve never worn anything like that in your life, have you?” Weiss cackled, falling back on the bed. “Look at you! I’ve never seen you look this uncomfortable before!”

“Shut up!”

“Now, now, Weiss,” Pyrrha put in as she unpacked their books, though she was also smiling. “Don’t tease, it isn’t kind. She looks nice.”

“After all that teasing Yang put me through? I think it’s only fair!”

Rolling her eyes, Yang sat on the edge of the bed, watching Weiss’s legs windmilling in the air. “Goofball. You said I should look ‘less like a brute’, and I tried. And it worked, didn't it? Your parents let me right in.”

“Alright, alright,” she finally laughed, sitting back up. “For the record, you do actually look very sweet! Who knew you could be a girl if you tried?”

“I knew, you jerk!” Yang protested, folding her arms over her chest. “Wow, I think I’m being insulted here!”

“You’re very pretty,” Pyrrha put in, hoping to smooth over the bickering, even if it was playful. “A-and in your normal clothes, you’re quite… handsome? Is that alright for me to say?”

That caught Yang off guard enough that she smiled. “Really? I mean, I guess if you don’t mean it as an insult, it isn’t one.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t! Please don’t think that!” But now Weiss and Yang were laughing, so she ducked her head. “W-we should probably study…”

“Yeah, okay. Just don't be too mean; I got a head like a cinder block.”

After that, they got down to business for a good solid pair of hours. Yang wasn't the terrible pupil she claimed to be; though it took a little more work than it would with the average student, she got the basics of their history lesson quite easily. The dates were harder for her to recall but they did come to the surface of her mind eventually.

Algebra, however, didn't sink in no matter how long they took on it. Both Weiss and Yang started to get increasingly frustrated until Pyrrha called for a break.

“Just give it time,” Weiss encouraged her, petting up and down her bicep as the Dragon glared down at her books. “Believe it or not, you did make some progress tonight.”

“Just feel dumber.”

“You’re not dumb at all!” She leaned up to kiss her cheek, and Yang sighed in defeat. “This is a good start. We’ll make your mom proud yet.”

“Oh, that’s never gonna happen,” she laughed harshly. “Can’t be proud of a kid you never wanted.” When nobody responded, she glanced around to see Weiss and Pyrrha looking completely crestfallen and cracked a lopsided smile. “Hey, it’s nothing, guys. Old news. Let’s, uh… let’s get back to the books.”

Reluctantly, Weiss agreed, as did Pyrrha. They pressed on for another hour or so with their other subjects, then decided to call it a night before Weiss’s father came up to insist.

“Good work tonight,” Weiss told them outside her front door, all smiles. “And hey, don’t be so blue about that equation; it’s no picnic. You have catching up to do from before. Don’t worry about current stuff, just focus on studying from where we showed you.”

Glancing down at the book under her arm, Yang let out another weary sigh. But she was smiling slightly. “Guys… I gotta say, I almost left when you laughed at me, ‘cause that was kinda what I expected the whole time. Just laughing at how stupid I am.” While Pyrrha was wincing, she went on, “But you really surprised me by being… y’know… _nice._ Not just the regular kind, but about me being so behind.”

“Patient?” Weiss guessed, and she nodded. “Yeah. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense being mad at you for something you didn’t know how to do. That won’t get you to learn it any faster.”

Pyrrha chimed in, “Exactly. You’re going to be holding your own in our classes in no time! You’ll see!”

Laughing with good humour now, Yang linked arms with her, which startled the other taller girl. “C’mon, Stilts. Let’s pretend to go back to your house and get my jacket. Seriously, you two… you’re the bee’s knees.”

“W-well, I… I like to help however I can,” Pyrrha said with a bright smile, in spite of the glow in her cheeks.

Weiss waved to the both of them as they walked away. “Bye, girls! See you tomorrow!” She would have considered blowing a kiss to Yang but that would only invite trouble. Instead, she turned to head inside.

“You seem chipper,” her father grumbled from his armchair.

“Do I?”

“Who was that new friend of yours? I don’t recall seeing her around.”

Weiss had actually practiced this in her head many times. “A friend from school. She’s been having a little trouble in arithmetic, so Pyrrha and I offered to give her a few pointers. I think we did some real good today.” There; no way he could see any problem with her clear goodwill.

Except he did. “That isn’t your job to do, sweetheart. Most of those young ladies in your class will turn out to be housewives or secretaries, and nothing more. But you…”

“I have a bright future ahead of me at Schnee Communications,” she droned, able to say the line in her sleep as often as it was drilled into her.

“Yes, and you might want to show a little gratitude. In a man’s world, you’re one of the few women who have a ghost of a chance at success.”

“Of course, Father. I’ll continue to do my best; my grades are spotless, are they not?”

He pursed his lips; she could even tell from the side of his face barely visible. “You had a B-plus last semester. Ironically, in home ec. But yes, otherwise spotless.”

The jab almost made her laugh. Almost. But she wanted to be done with the conversation. “Will Mother or Whitley be joining us for the rest of the evening? Or shall I retire to my room? I thought I might bathe and turn in early tonight.”

“Very well. But don’t forget what I said; look after your own interests before you worry about those of others. No one else is going to do it for you.”

Privately disagreeing, she merely said “Yes, Father” before slipping upstairs.

* * *

Weiss did as she promised. However, what she _didn’t_ tell her father was that after a mere hour’s nap, she dressed again and slipped out her window as silently as she could, climbing down the trellis and tiptoeing across the yard in her socked feet until she got around the corner. Then she slipped on her new black ballet flats and ran down the block to their appointed meeting spot.

“What took you so long?” Yang hissed as she hopped up behind her, sliding her arms around the muscled waist. “Ah! Ooh, one of ‘em still stings!”

“Sorry!” she whispered. “For both. I heard a noise a little while ago, had to make sure Mother didn’t get up to drink herself back into her eternal wine-nap.”

Nodding her understanding, she let the bike roll away a little before she truly took off, hoping not to alert the entire neighbourhood. Weiss felt lucky that Yang wasn’t the type to tweak the muffler so it was as noisy as possible.

As they dismounted near Shopkeeper’s, Yang slid her arm around Weiss’s back and closed her eyes. “Mmm, you smell good.”

“I bathed,” she snorted. “You ought to try it sometime.”

“Nah. I think you like my natural musk.”

“That’s disgusting,” Weiss giggled as they walked inside. “But… I guess I must, since I’m still here.”

The place was a little busier that night. Women were dancing with women to the tunes on the jukebox, and one couple was simply making out in the corner of the dance floor rather than dancing at all. At their usual table, Velvet was sitting in Coco’s lap as comfortably as if she were the chair itself while the entirety of Yang’s cadre chatted and laughed. At peace with the world.

“Hey, guys,” Yang sighed as they took two empty chairs. “Sorry we can’t stay long.”

“I wonder why,” Emerald said lewdly, and a few of the others hooted and hollered.

“Now, now, it’s not polite for a woman to kiss and tell,” Weiss said primly. However, in a marked departure from all previous discussions, she wasn’t denying anything anymore.

“Geez Louise,” Blake breathed, pointing at the two of them with the neck of her beer bottle. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

All Weiss said was “Maybe”, but she might as well have said “Yes” for the reaction she got. Most of them at least clapped, if not cheered; even Cinder was nodding her vague respect.

“Welcome!” Velvet said, actually reaching out to shake her hand. Weiss laughed.

“Thanks! I don’t know, I’m still really… yeah, this is crazy! But what can I say? I’d take Yang’s pin anytime.”

“Fraternity pin?” Blake asked with a snicker. “I don’t think they let women into those.”

Emerald slapped the table with mirth. “We all know she’s gonna steal _six_ frat pins if it means getting into her precious Princess’s skirt!”

“Hey!” Yang said, though she was laughing along with them. “Maybe don’t talk about my new girl that way, alright? She’s a high-class lady.”

“Not if she’s with you,” Cinder needled, and the others cackled and poked her shoulders, eventually making her giggle some more. Weiss tried to be offended but couldn’t seem to bring herself to do anything other than smile. They were more or less good-natured jabs, after all.

After a minute or two, Vernal came by to ask about drinks. Yang ordered them two club sodas in champagne glasses, so they could at least pretend they were celebrating in a way Weiss deserved. By the time she brought them around, Weiss was cuddled close to Yang, resting her head on her collarbone.

“We were ready to cream you,” Coco admitted as she pet up and down Velvet’s stomach through her blouse, the smaller girl sighing and completely limp as a ragdoll.

“I understand,” she replied. “But I really couldn’t know how angry she would get!”

Waving a hand of dismissal, Cinder said, “You should have been smart enough to figure it out, genius. What’s the point in having someone tutor the Dragon if she’s not even bright enough to pick up on that much?”

“Enough,” Blake hissed at her. “At least she’s trying to help her with her report card; keep Raven off her back.”

“A battle that cannot be won,” Yang snorted, now leaning her face against the crown of Weiss’s head and making the both of them hum very silently so that only they could tell – _feeling_ it rather than hearing it thanks to their close contact.

“I don’t think so. I tried to get you to study with me before, but I guess I just wasn’t sexy enough.”

Yang blinked a little. “What is that supposed to mean, Belladonna? You’ve got a classy chassis. And you know I think so.”

“Oh… I was kidding,” Blake hurriedly told her, smile a little pained. “Sorry if that didn’t sound that way. But yeah, I am serious about the offer. If those two are busy, pull up a book.”

“Noted. Thanks, I mean it.”

The night wore on. Eventually, Coco and Velvet excused themselves to the restroom, and Emerald, Blake, and Cinder all kept up their alternate teasing and flirting. At one point, Blake came back from getting another beer and sat on Weiss’s lap “by mistake”, which no one believed for a second. It was all in good fun, and against all of her expectations, the spoiled rich girl found herself more at home with a gang of hoodlums than she ever had in her own house.

Emerald and Cinder went into the bathroom once Velvet and Coco returned, the former wearing a few red marks low on her neck. Weiss gaped at this development, but Blake explained patiently.

“She’ll have a scarf on tomorrow in school. Maybe two days in a row, if it doesn’t go away.”

“That’s so scandalous!” she protested, earning her a laugh from the others and a slight blush from Velvet. “Wow… you really do love Coco. Isn’t there anything we can do to keep you from moving back?”

Her smile faded as she stared down at the table. “No. Mum and Dad want to g-go back, and…”

“Come on. Why can’t they stay here, really? I doubt it’s because of you.”

“Well…” Shrugging her shoulders, she said, “I did ask again and got some better answers. My Dad’s been having a time of it finding work after the mill laid him off last Spring. Can’t be helped, he’s really done everything he can. And worrying about me running with the ‘wrong crowd’ only makes it worse, so I think he’s ready to leave the States and be well shut of Americans.”

Weiss filed that away for later contemplation. Maybe it wouldn’t be anything she could help with after all, but she wouldn’t know until she tried.

Meanwhile, she just noticed Blake and Coco whispering back and forth. When they were through, Coco turned to ask, “So Weiss… apparently, you and Yang still haven’t progressed past the ‘making out’ stage?”

“Thanks, Belladonna,” Yang grunted with narrowed eyes. “Apparently I literally have to say ‘this is a secret’ or you’ll blab to everybody in Vale.”

Blake shrugged. “You do. I mean, you never _said_ it was a secret…”

“Never mind that,” Coco interrupted. “I think the princess needs some tutoring of her own.”

While Blake and Velvet were giggling, Yang groaned and rolled her eyes. “You guys are terrible.”

“What?” Weiss asked softly, fingertips raising to alight on her lips. “Am… have I been doing it wrong?”

“No, no! That’s not what they’re talking about. And believe me…” Instead of finishing, Yang just bit her lip and looked away. It was hard to tell in the darkened room, but Weiss could be reasonably sure she was blushing as badly as Weiss was most days of late.

“She’s over the moon for you,” Blake finished for her while Coco was whispering in Velvet’s ear. The other girl looked a little flustered by the words, but still nodded. “Don’t worry about that.”

Pleased far beyond a level she had any right to be, Weiss said, “Oh. Then what is it we’re talking about?”

Coco rubbed her hands together as if she were about to come into a large sum of money. “You and Yang are eventually going to want to try something… _beyond_ a kiss and a cuddle. And you look like the kind of prude who covered her ears during health class when they started talking about our bodies.”

“Psh,” Weiss scoffed, even though the statement was a hundred percent accurate.

“So we’re going to give you a quick lesson.” As she spoke, Velvet stood up from Coco’s lap, and the other two stood on either side of her. “Pay close attention, and maybe you’ll learn something.”

The girl was so trim that it didn’t take much effort from the well-toned Dragons on either side of her to lift her up and seat her on the table itself. Weiss and Yang hastily moved aside the glasses and bottles so they wouldn’t be knocked to the floor; Weiss had noticed that even though the dive was technically abandoned, they took very good care of their refuge. Nobody ever threw a bottle or knocked food into the floor on purpose.

Then she was staring down at a pair of panties and forgot about the cleanliness of gangsters.

“Wh-wha…? What are you doing?”

“Guys, I think this is a little premature,” Yang was telling them, even though she wasn’t fighting all that hard to convince them.

“I think it’s right on schedule,” Blake laughed. “We just want her to be prepared.”

One of Coco’s gloved hands trailed down Velvet’s stomach and helped to hitch her skirt up even further. For her part, the Aussie was smiling vaguely, a little shy but mostly excited. Weiss had the distinct feeling this wasn’t the first time they had done this with her, even though she still wasn’t quite sure _what_ they were doing.

“So… you aren’t required to participate, Schnee. Just watch. But we want you to get a good look.”

“Are you going to…” Her heart shot up into her throat. “Blake! You wouldn’t!”

“Why _me?”_ Blake laughed. “Coco and Velvet are here, too!”

“Well… I don’t know, I thought you were less… crude!”

They all laughed, even Velvet. But it wasn’t a cruel laugh, and Weiss only felt a tiny bit mortified that she had bothered speaking out at all. Were they really going to do what she thought they were? It seemed cruel in a way. At the very least, it was improper and indecent! They were in a _public setting!_ Sure, there was no one there except for Dragons and those who loved them, such as herself and Velvet - and she knew they certainly weren’t shy. But how could Coco possibly be alright with exposing her girlfriend to not one, but _three_ other people?

Even as she was having that thought, she heard another voice from nearby ask, “Blake, d-do you want anything from the kitchen? I know she’s your mother - don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten. But I thought I could… save you a…”

When glancing up, she saw poor Ilia looking about as thunderstruck as she felt, eyes completely round as she gazed down at the mostly-exposed pelvis on the table. She was frozen as if a statue.

“No, thank you,” Blake sighed. But she wouldn’t be getting rid of her that easily.

“Good timing, Amitola,” Coco said with a little smirk. “You and the princess can be our students for today. Two for the price of one.”

Blake’s head snapped around to glare at Coco, who only grinned more widely. After a brief staring contest, she rolled her eyes in defeat. “Fine. Can’t hurt anything.”

“O-oh, I…” The girl almost seemed to change colours completely, from a light tan to a deep red. “What? Student? I don’t- what are you asking me to do?”

“Go stand over by Weiss and watch. That’s it. You don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable doing.”

And Ilia did it. Suddenly, Weiss found herself standing next to the smaller girl, intensely aware of how close she was. Ilia seemed to notice in the same moment, glancing up with a nervous smile. “U-um, hi.”

“Weiss. Nice to meet you.” They shook hands, and Yang laughed. “Hey! Just because you girls are being disgusting doesn’t mean I shouldn’t still be polite!”

“I didn’t say a word,” Yang snorted.

“Alright,” Coco said to get their attention. “I’m going to begin your lesson if you two are through being all high society over there. I’m studying to be a doctor, you know.”

Ilia and Weiss turned to lean down just a little. They both seemed to be of equal mind that they didn’t want to get too close, but also felt strange standing fully upright. Gloved fingers twitched the fabric aside-

Weiss closed her eyes. This was too strange for her. What were they doing?! Showing off someone else’s body for fun? It went against everything she had ever been told growing up, and even though she had been questioning a lot of that lately, this was too far, too suddenly. So indecent!

“Weiss,” Yang whispered. “You can tell us to stop, you know.”

“Ohhhh,” Ilia was saying on her other side. But Coco didn’t seem to be concerned with Ilia’s reactions.

“Schnee, if you’re not gonna look, there’s no point in doing this. Poor Velvet got up on this table just for you, and this is the thanks she gets?”

Grunting in annoyance, she turned to look down… and her breath caught.

Velvet Scarlatina had a lovely example of the female anatomy. She hadn’t known what she expected to see, or how she expected to feel about seeing it - this couldn’t actually be happening to her! A half-naked woman was on display for all to see, should they get curious enough to wander over to their table! Did this really happen so frequently in Shopkeeper’s that nobody cared?! Still, the delicate little pink petals were as beautiful as many flowers she had seen in nature, glistening with dew as if seen in the first light of morning. A sparse patch of brown hair above the area reminded her of dandelion fluff somehow. The temptation to lean in and inhale deeply rose within her, but she suppressed that; it definitely wouldn’t _smell_ like an actual flower.

“Better,” Coco said, voice more seductive, and the spell was broken. When she glanced around at the others, she saw Yang was looking out of passive interest, but Blake was watching Yang instead. That was interesting. Ilia, of course, was staring at the pink folds in wonder as she herself had been doing a moment ago.

“Well?” Velvet asked with a slightly bemused smile.

“W-well, it’s a vagina,” Weiss said dismissively. “And a nice one, of course! But n-nothing I haven’t seen in an anatomy textbook.”

“I haven’t,” Ilia admitted, clearly even shyer. “I’ve never even looked at my own in the mirror.”

“Really?” Weiss asked, slightly surprised. When they glanced at each other, they both felt a little self-conscious; only now did they realise how close they were and what they were doing. “O-oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright. This is, um… not what I thought I would be doing tonight.”

“You’re telling me!” They both chuckled before turning back to look.

“Glad I have your attention,” Coco deadpanned. “Now this… is the labia majora.” One fingertip traced along the peach-hued skin around the folds themselves. Velvet shivered but that was the extent of her reaction; as Weiss suspected, she was used to this sort of treatment. “The mons pubis.” Up to the thatch of brown hairs, through them, and then all the way down below her opening completely. “The perineum.”

That one did make Velvet shiver. “Coco, I t-told you not to tease me down that far in f-front of other people…”

“I wasn’t going further,” she promised her, giving her a brief kiss on the forehead to reassure her. Weiss was completely certain she meant going down past said perineum to her anus, but that was silly. No one would bother touching anyone else _there._ “Now, I’ll need a volunteer.”

“Hey, you said we didn’t have to do anything!” Weiss reminded her.

“Not directly. I need someone to hold her open very slightly. You can both use one hand apiece.” Coco’s hands pressed into the skin on either side of Velvet’s opening, pulling just a little to demonstrate. “Yang, do you want the honours instead?”

“That’s alright,” she chuckled, hand gently resting against Weiss’s back. “Let the new blood have the fun.”

So Ilia and Weiss each used a hand to tug to one side. It was a strange experience, touching another woman so close to such an intimate area. Warmer than she expected somehow. Velvet sighed in distant pleasure from feeling two foreign hands on her body. Ilia gulped, glanced up at Blake as if for approval, then pointed her eyes back down when she was pointedly ignored.

“Now this… is the labia minora.” Coco’s finger caressed over the petals, and Velvet could no longer suppress a soft moan. “And contrary to popular belief, _this_ is the vagina. Not the whole thing; just this opening here and what’s inside. The outside part is called the vulva.”

“Ohhh,” Ilia breathed. Weiss had known that much, even if she had only seen black-and-white diagrams before. “So… okay.”

Leaning over, Weiss muttered in her ear, “Can you believe we’re doing this?”

“No! But I don’t want to miss anything!”

“Ready to move on?” Coco asked, even though she was currently stroking up and down Velvet’s soft lips, prompting more little noises from her. “Alright, we’re almost done. One last thing, and this is very important.”

Two of her fingers reached down and began to gently hitch up a small fold of skin at the top. It revealed something Weiss technically knew existed but had forgotten about completely.

“OooOOOooh,” Yang cooed theatrically, as if it were the unveiling of a Christmas tree or similar.

“This is the clit,” Coco said, ignoring her.

“Clit… you mean the clitoris?” Weiss leaned a little closer. “It’s so small; I thought it was larger than that.”

Shrugging as one finger moved down to touch the clit, Coco said, “All shapes and sizes. Mine’s a little larger, but not by much.”

“Looks like mine,” Blake affirmed for them, almost as if to reassure Velvet that hers was normal. The exposed specimen did glance up at her with a slight smile, even as she was writhing slightly from the stimulation.

“Mine’s way bigger,” Yang snickered. “Everybody jokes it’s because I’m such a dick. But… yeah, everybody’s different. Not really better or worse.”

Ilia was leaning ever closer. After a few seconds, she seemed to realise, and moved to one side. “S-sorry, you probably can’t see.”

“No, I can see,” she assured her, also leaning closer as they watched the finger begin to circle around the clit. “What’s this you’re doing now?”

“Getting her off.” A brief silence. “You know… making her come?” Nothing. “Orgasm?”

“Oh.” Her cheeks coloured a bit more. _“Ohhhh._ Should we… leave you to it?”

“No, this is part of the lesson.” As Velvet’s hips began to squirm, she went on, “If you can do this with your tongue or finger, you’re definitely going to get your girlfriend off. Well… _some_ girls actually get off from internal stimulation more than this, but the clit is almost always the magic button. Don’t forget about it.”

Ilia licked her lips, as if she could barely restrain herself from acting on her urges. Weiss felt no such compulsion to participate. It was definitely thrilling, and she could feel that tingle return that she had managed to suppress. But she was fine with leaving this up to Velvet’s Dragon.

“You look like you want to move to hands-on,” Coco said to Ilia.

“Huh? N-no, I didn’t… well, I’m curious, but it’s not Velvet that I…” Her eyes flicked up to Blake again, but she turned them back downward right afterward. She really was trying not to be as obvious as she was. And failing.

“I definitely don’t care,” Blake told her without any hesitation. “Of course, if Weiss wanted first crack at it…”

“Stop teasing,” Weiss sighed. “You know I’m not going to try this on Velvet.” At the last two words, Blake and Coco grinned and elbowed each other. “Or at all! Do you have to take everything I say the worst way possible?!”

“Best way, you mean,” Yang purred into her ear, and she melted completely. She was the only one who could cut through her prudishness and sense of decorum like a hot knife through butter.

Meanwhile, Ilia was touching Velvet with her other hand now. Not very much, just testing how things felt under her fingertips. Coco was still working at her clit, but she was also making a lot more of an effort to lean down and kiss Velvet’s face. Reassuring her girlfriend that she hadn’t forgotten their relationship just because they were engaged in a “group activity”.

It didn’t take much more coaxing before Ilia started going down on her. Coco and Blake gave pointers, since they could see what she was doing from their perspective, and she adapted as best she could. Weiss had to turn away several times to regain her composure; this was _definitely_ not a normal school night.

“NNhh!” Velvet finally began to moan some minutes later. “Ilia?”

“Yes?” she asked, out of breath.

“Fingers… in?”

“Alright,” Coco encouraged her when she saw Ilia’s deer-in-the-headlights look. “So you want to insert two fingers, and you want to do it perpendicular to her thigh. Not straight down or straight up, but straight in. Want me to show you first?”

When Ilia nodded, Coco leaned far over her girlfriend and demonstrated with her index and middle fingers, sliding them into the wetness. The squelching sound made Weiss cover her eyes again for a moment, and the urge to flee the room entirely was quite strong. But the moaning and the quiet “Ohhhh” from her fellow pupil did make her look again.

“This is so wrong,” she breathed as she watched the gloved fingers sliding in and out of Velvet’s body.

“A little,” Yang admitted in a soft voice, still stroking Weiss’s back. She had noticed the hand slid down to her rear end once or twice, but had made no comment and gave no reaction. “But she’s _doing_ it right, so at least she’s gonna make a great doctor.”

Ilia had been alternately gazing in longing, and nodding as she committed this or that aspect to her memory. Then she said, “Can I try?”

“Sure.”

Hands were traded. Velvet moaned much louder when she felt Ilia inside of her - probably because it was someone new rather than the technique being any better or worse than Coco’s. This went on for another minute of writhing and panting. Taking the initiative on her own, Ilia lowered her mouth to the clit and went back to work, doing her best to bring her more pleasure. And within a few more seconds…

“AH!” Velvet cried. “I’m… it’s g-going to…”

“Keep it up, Amitola,” Coco encouraged her as she pet along her love’s hair. “Don’t quit on us now!”

Weiss watched as everything continued. When Velvet’s back arched and she cried out in sheer pleasure, Ilia started and glanced up at them. “It’s- something’s happening! It’s grabbing my fingers!”

Laughing a little, Coco encouraged her, “Don’t stop. Just finish her off first and then I’ll explain.” She got back to work. Not long after, Velvet flopped down in a puddle of sweat, and Coco nodded. “Alright. So that was her orgasm. For some women, the inside of the vagina kind of clamps down during the finish; most of us, really. It’s totally normal, and a great sign that you were succeeding.”

“I was?” Flushed with her success and her efforts, she glanced over at Blake, who merely shrugged. Her cheeks were a tiny bit pink, but she was doing a good job of playing it cool. “Wow… I m-mean, this is good, right?”

“Very good, if you want to date women. Probably not of much use if you don’t, though you could _try_ training a man to do it for you. Not that they’re much good at that…”

Nodding her agreement, Blake looked back up at Weiss. “So, any thoughts?”

“What thoughts am I supposed to be having? I just watched a stranger do unspeakable things to one of my friends’ girlfriends on a restaurant table!”

“Yes, but did you _learn_ anything that could be of use?” Her head nodded toward Yang, who was shaking her head and laughing.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. But I’ll at least inform you that I’m a _very_ good student.”

While Blake and Coco were laughing, and even Velvet was snickering slightly, Ilia withdrew her fingers and caused her laughter to turn into a quiet sigh. Then she pulled her underwear back into place over her and patted the sensitive organ through the fabric.

“Thank you,” she made sure to tell Velvet.

“Of course. I’m… I’m glad you liked it. Always kind of self-conscious when someone new is messing about down there.”

“Don’t worry, I… I liked poking down there with you,” she told her earnestly. They were definitely sharing a brief moment between them, and Coco, her actual girlfriend, didn’t mind. It was crazy.

“Your body is lovely,” Weiss made sure to tell her with a polite smile. “And… well, I can’t pretend I wasn’t at least a _little_ stimulated from watching, even if I’m not sure any of this was necessary. I already knew where all those things were from class!”

“I didn’t,” Ilia reminded them.

“Most students don’t,” Coco told her with a friendly pat on the shoulder as Blake helped Velvet down. “Pretty normal, to be honest.”

Just then, as Ilia was looking relieved and very distantly pleased with her own efforts, Emerald and Cinder returned from the bathroom, their hair dishevelled. “What did we miss?” Emerald asked.

Everyone else burst into laughter. Even Ilia, despite being the one least welcome at that table. Maybe that could begin to change at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy upcoming Thanksgiving to my American friends! Going to try to get out some more chaps after the holidays, maybe even finish editing some of our other fics and get those up. We have a lot of backlog haha. Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8

**=Chapter 8**

“So we got through a LOT of homework tonight.”

Yang laughed as they sped down the road toward Atlas Heights. “Yep. Bet you didn’t think you’d be getting tutored, too, did ya?”

“I didn’t,” Weiss admitted. “I can’t believe you went along with that!”

“Well… okay, I know it’s pretty raunchy to give you a peep show. But it really does tend to make for a lot less awkward first times if we just let Coco break in the new girls like that.”

Wrapping her arms tighter around Yang’s body, causing her to wince again from the bruises, she said, “Probably! And despite what I said, I did learn a few things about, um, _technique_ that I won’t be forgetting!”

“Mmm… I bet you won’t.”

“Also… is it crazy to admit that after watching all that play out, riding your motorcycle is starting to feel _really_ good right about now?”

Yang pulled up to a stop sign and waited there, instead of taking off again as she could have done. Her head craned around to look at Weiss. “Really? Want to make a pit stop at the depot and I can take care of that?”

“No.”

“Awww, c’mon,” she needled very gently, impish grin in place. “I guarantee it’ll feel better than a Harley.”

“Maybe so, but I’m already out past curfew. They will suspect something if I’m tired in the morning.”

“And you definitely would be.” When she poked Yang in the breast, she laughed and said, “If you’re trying to make me mad, that’s not the way to do it; just makes me want to have a little study session of our own right here in the street.”

“You Dragons are impossible.”

Still, Yang finished driving her back to her neighbourhood. Weiss spent the entire trip trying not to focus too hard on the sensations the moving vehicle was sparking within her body; it_ wasn’t fair._ She had never noticed them before, on bikes, cars, trains, horses… any such thing. But such was her curse for dating a Dragon: heightened awareness of sexuality.

When she hopped off the motorcycle, she hesitated long enough that Yang tilted her head and waited. Finally, she began, “I’m… still not quite sure how to feel about hanging out with them. Things keep happening that I’m not ready for yet, and all the time. But I definitely know they’re… I guess ‘good people’ sounds patronizing, doesn’t it?”

Shrugging her shoulders under her leather, Yang stared up at the stars. “Yeah. But I get what you mean. They really are a great group of friends, even if they’re rough. And always horny.”

The phrase made Weiss titter, and Yang grinned before leaning over to take her lips. After they shared a long kiss, Weiss feeling her ankle rising into the air as she leaned into the contact, she pulled back just enough to whisper, “I had a great time with you today. All of it, even watching Coco prostitute her lover.”

“Nobody paid for it,” Yang muttered, and they both grinned. Then her face turned slightly more serious. “Me, too. I think you might be the one, Schnee.”

“The one what?”

“The one to tame the Dragon. To make me a one-woman woman.”

Rolling her eyes, Weiss said, “You don’t have to keep using such lines on me when I’m already available for kissing anytime.”

“But I mean it.”

Their smiles were gone now. Weiss felt her heart pounding, the backs of her knees tingled in the chill night air. “Really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel good?”

“Guess that’s the kind of thing I would do by reputation. But I don’t lie to girlfriends. And I wouldn’t tell you I’m serious if I’m not serious.” Her hand slid very slightly through Weiss’s hair, fingertips digging into her scalp. “I’m crazy about you, Schnee. And I know we were talking about how it can’t happen, but… if it could… I think I could see myself marrying you.”

Tears sprang to her eyes instantly, as if summoned with magic. “Oh! Oh, Yang… no one’s ever- I m-mean, I’m starting to feel that way, too, but I don’t know how to…”

Neither of them seemed to know what else to say about it, so they kissed, longer and deeper, and more yearning than before. It took every ounce of willpower Weiss had to pull away from the contact, but she knew she had to be getting back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she breathed as she began to walk backwards away from the bike.

“You will. And every day, if I can help it.”

“Maybe… tennis?”

Grinning, Yang merely waved instead of answering. Weiss climbed the trellis, electing to simply move softly instead of taking off her shoes, and winced at the noises of them echoing off the shingles.

As she reached to slide her window shut, she heard the Harley driving off and grinned to herself. This was all she had ever wanted without knowing she wanted it. If the price was having to watch two women behave immodestly, it seemed like a bargain, all things considered.

“Yang Xiao Long,” she breathed softly to herself as she fell back on her bed, staring up at the pristine white ceiling. “Golly gee…”

It took too long for Weiss to fall asleep that night. As always, the idea of dating Yang was plaguing her thoughts, but in this case it was partly because she finally realised…

‘_I just watched two people have sex,’_ she thought to herself. _‘Didn’t I? There was no penis involved, which is how I learned sex works, but… there’s no way what they did DOESN’T count as sex. Right?’_

Without anyone there to answer her, the thoughts swirled around and around. She tried rolling onto her side, then her back, then her stomach again. Nothing helped. In the back of her mind, she knew the reason was that her body had been even further awakened by the little demonstration and the bike ride home - as if it needed any help. Yang was already sweeping her off her feet in ways she could never have imagined. But what could she do about it?

‘_There is that demonstration. Coco showed me _exactly_ what to do.’_

But she quickly tried to put that out of her mind. No way she could do that to her own body! It was indecent and wrong! Wasn’t it? One pale hand began to sneak down to the waistband of her pajamas, but that was as far as she got before she jerked it back. She couldn’t possibly.

But as she tossed and turned, she began to wonder if she might need to ask Yang to help her relieve that building stress sooner rather than later. At least there was more than one way for them to accomplish that.

* * *

“Fifteen-love!”

Panting, Yang sagged against the net for a moment, wiping the sweat from her forehead. They had been batting the little yellow ball back and forth for nearly an hour and a half now. Privately, Weiss was really enjoying the sight of the blonde bruiser getting all worked up, but she would never admit such a thing aloud. Especially not in a public park.

“I think… I’m almost getting the hang of this,” Yang finally replied. “Even if I still… can’t beat you.”

Twirling her racquet in her hands, Weiss smirked at her. “Really? Because it looks to me like you’re about to fall apart on me, Xiao Long.”

Yang’s bottom lip jutted out in protest. “Thought calling you by your… last name was… my thing.”

“I’m stealing it.”

“Oh, really? So can I… ask for payment in return?”

The Dragon was completely transparent. Quickly looking around to make sure the park was at least deserted enough that no one would notice, she darted forward and pecked Yang’s lips over the top of the net. She was so surprised that she nearly slipped the rest of the way down to the court.

“Goodness me,” Yang breathed in a besotted tone.

“Stop,” Weiss laughed, returning to a serving position. Though her face felt distinctly warmer.

They didn’t keep it up much longer than that before Yang decided she was through. Tennis used different muscle groups than the bodybuilding and general exercise she normally got, and wore her out quickly. They towelled their faces and necks off, and Yang grabbed up her leather jacket as they walked over to where she’d left her Harley.

“I swear, you’re turning me into somebody completely different,” she said as she paused at a water fountain.

“What do you mean? I could say the same about you! I mean, I’ve never snuck out of the house before you came along!”

Wiping her mouth with the back of her forearm, she smirked over at Weiss as she stepped back to allow her to take a drink. “Yeah, and I never played tennis or had a ‘study date’ before.”

“Hmm,” she said as she bent over the spout and turned the spigot on. “Then I guess we have a lot to teach each _othaaaagh?!”_

The water ran down from her nose and chin into the basin as she felt Yang’s hand move back and forth across her rear. She tried to find a way within herself to speak up, to reprimand her for being so bold in public - putting her hand _up her skirt_ even - but she couldn’t seem to come up with any words. Each fingertip pressing into her flesh through the taut fabric of her underwear sent a fresh chill up her spine.

“What was that?”

“Bluh…” That was all she could say, given the water still running over her mouth. She couldn’t seem to release the handle, either.

“Sorry, can’t hear you,” Yang purred into her ear as she kept it up, and Weiss swayed slightly, knees no longer able to keep her upright quite so easily as before. “Speak up a little, baby.”

Finally, she did come back to herself and stood bolt upright, taking a step away from Yang to wipe at her face. “YANG!”

“What?” she chuckled.

“You, you… _masher!_” Then she coughed for a moment before adding, “I never thought I’d have to call a woman that!”

The brute put on a sweet, innocent face that almost worked, given that she was wearing a white A-line dress for their game rather than her usual attire. “Awww, come on, Weissy. I was just playing with you. Don’t be so sensitive!”

“Me?! We are in _public,_ Yang! You need to be _more_ sensitive to that!”

“Maybe I just wanted revenge for you whooping me so easily.”

That level of pettiness surprised her. “Did you?”

“Well… okay, not really. That little skirt was just too tempting,” she confessed.

“Okay, _that_ sounds more accurate.” Clearing her throat, she turned away and folded her arms over her chest, racquet dangling and swinging back and forth. “Fine. I assume you had noticed no one was in this area before you started groping things I haven’t given you permission to grope yet?”

Rolling her eyes, Yang slid an arm around Weiss’s waist and started guiding her toward the bike again. “Of course. I’m not _that_ much of a dumbbell.”

“Good.”

“Great,” she laughed. “Glad we settled that.”

“Mmm.” Around the time they reached the bike, Weiss couldn’t help asking, “Do you really like touching me there that much?”

“What?”

“My… you know. _Derrière._ Do you like touching it that much?”

Yang snorted at the unexpected query. “Well… yeah. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like doing it. You have a nice, firm little caboose; fun to squeeze now and then. But you know all you have to do is smack me and I’ll stop, right?”

Though she was still flustered, thinking about Yang enjoying it that much, she smiled at the question. “Of course. You’ve made that clear from the beginning; you’re going to keep using my body like a toy, and if I ever get furious enough at you, all I have to do is speak up.”

“That’s not… how I’d put it…”

“I’m teasing,” Weiss told her when she saw just how worried Yang looked by her phrasing. She slid onto the bike behind Yang and held onto her waist, leaning up to kiss the side of her cheek. “Really, I do understand. We’re both kind of just… experimenting. And so far, more of the experiments have been successes than failures. I think that’s a pretty good record.”

“Me too,” she breathed, smiling at her for a long moment. The moment stretched on, and neither of them seemed to want to break their gazes. There was something truly magical about looking into the Dragon’s eyes, being this near to her.

But finally, she cleared her throat and turned back around. “I’ll take you home, then I gotta split. That parley is tonight and I don’t want to let the girls down.”

Weiss felt a flutter of worry in her stomach. “Do you have to go? I mean, meeting with a rival gang… it’s not very-”

“We’re not really rivals. They handle the business district and places like that; we’re strictly the other side of town. The crummy side,” she added with a slight smile as she started the bike. “We just like to keep things civil and make sure no toes are stepped on.”

There wasn’t much else Weiss could say to that, so she fell silent. All she could do was worry, and worrying solved nothing. Best to simply wait for news.

* * *

Which she got the next morning. If Yang's exhausted expression was any indication, things had not gone as smoothly as she hoped.

“Why the long face?” she asked as cheerfully as she could.

“Because I am Mister Ed.” There was no inflection to the joke as the dejected Dragon leaned back against the lockers.

“That bad, hm? I'm sorry.”

Trying for a casual shrug that looked more like a stretch gone wrong, Yang grunted, “It’s fine. Salem and their head cheese don’t get along so great. They’ll work it out eventually, but yeah, we’ll need a second pow-wow.”

Weiss leaned back with her, hoping her companionship would be of some use when her words were not. A few students were glancing at them in mild curiosity, but after they sat together in the cafeteria, it was a lot less shocking.

“And we gotta study today,” Yang went on eventually. “Teach made a big deal about me actually trying on my math homework, though he sounded sarcastic. So maybe… it’s not a total waste of time.”

“That’s great!” she burst out immediately, shaking Yang’s bicep just enough to make her smile very slightly. “See? I was right; you’re just lazy.”

Fire flashed in Yang’s eyes as she grinned. “Let me take you to the depot tonight and I’ll show you just how lazy I-”

“Hey, guys!”

The Dragon fell silent as Ruby came to a stop in front of the pair of them. This time, her hood was down, and Weiss could she had shortish brown hair, even shorter than that of her carrot-headed friend.

“Hey, Fuzzy Duck,” Yang murmured sullenly.

“You guys look like you’re… getting along again,” she remarked with a wide smile. Weiss could tell she was nervous behind the chipper facade, but commenting on it would only make it worse for her. “Glad to hear it! I was kinda worried that it wouldn’t go so-”

“What do you want?”

“Yang!” Weiss whispered, slapping her bicep gently. “She’s your sister!”

“Uh-huh.”

Fidgeting, Ruby went on, “So, um… I guess… that’s all! Have a great day, guys!” Then she sped off before Weiss could get out a single syllable.

“What a pest,” Yang sighed - before Weiss swatted her again. “Hey! You want Oobleck giving us the business again?”

“That sweet girl just wanted to check on you and see how you’re doing, and all you had to say was ‘fuzzy duck’? Whatever _that_ means!”

Rolling her eyes, she said, “It’s a girl with short hair. Get it? Chick with fuzzy feathers instead of amber waves like mine?”

“Oh…”

“And don’t worry about how me and Rubes get along. I just…” Her fingers rose up to comb through her hair as she started walking. Weiss felt irritated at being expected to just follow in step, but talking to Yang was more important than that sticking point. “Lot of bad memories. Dad ditching us, Summer dying. And she won’t come by because Raven scares her. Like… I can’t blame her, but I kinda can. Y’know?”

Weiss chewed the inside of her lip for a moment. “I see. Well… do you go to visit her?”

“Hah!” she burst out. “I don’t get along with Uncle Qrow. He has old Hunstman ties; doesn’t really abide my being a Dragon, both because he’s ex-gang _and_ because his ex-gang isn’t the one I’m in.”

“Is Raven ex-gang, too?”

Yang’s head whipped around quickly to gape at her. Then she snorted. “Maybe you really _are_ the smartest girl in school, Schnee.”

“As if there was any doubt,” she sighed, examining her fingernails with a smirk playing around the corner of her mouth.

“Damn. You make me wanna do things to you that would get us suspended.”

Nearly tripping over her own feet, Weiss recovered quickly and leaned against Yang for just a second. It was a second too long; she knew at least a few students had seen, had noticed. Maybe they would never understand what it meant, but it still shot her pulse into the stratosphere.

“Careful, Princess.”

“Thank you,” she whispered with a small smile.

“Hey, why is that creepy kid staring at us?”

Weiss’s eyes shot up, but she couldn’t see anyone watching them. Apparently, they were looking away just in time, and she had been wrong about their moment of closeness going entirely ignored. “Who do you mean?” she whispered.

“Gone already. Guess we’re just that entertaining.” Yang had already stepped a little to the side, putting a more normal amount of distance between their bodies. “Um… so I was thinking…”

“Yes?”

“You wanna study a little at lunch? Make it easier to find time, since I have other stuff going on after school. I mean, I’ll miss sitting with the girls, but it’s fine once in awhile.”

Feigning shock, she laughed, “Who is this? What have you done with Yang Xiao Long? Is this _‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’?!”_

“Wow, leave me alone, you germ! What did I do to deserve this?”

“So much. Do you want me to make a list?”

“Nope,” Yang chortled as they made their way down the hall, sounding happy as a clam. The feeling was mutual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all your reviews guys! Sorry if I don't get to them right away or all of them, or post the chapters frequently enough. Hopefully that can change after the holidays!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Racism and abuse.

**=Chapter 9**

That early evening, Weiss felt content in her knowledge that she and Yang were on good terms, and that they had already logged some study time to help Yang improve her grades. Things were going well. Now, she only had to solve one other new problem that had presented itself.

“Search me,” Pyrrha sighed as she gently stirred her milkshake with the straw, gazing into the far corner of the malt shop. Weiss had elected to have only a cherry phosphate, not wanting to spoil her dinner since she was eating at home tonight. “I’m an only child.”

“I might as well be,” Weiss admitted. “Whitley is a pill, and a _boy_ anyway, and Winter’s been gone away to college for a couple of years now. Father won’t even tell me if she calls or writes since he’s so disappointed in her career choice.”

“But the WAC is a noble field! I’ve actually been thinking of enlisting myself, if I don’t train for the Olympics…”

Lowering her voice, Weiss whispered, “I think he expects it to turn her into a _lesbian._ Since the army is ‘men’s work’ to him. Which is pretty ironic, isn’t it? Worried about the wrong daughter.” Then in a more normal tone, she added, “Plus, he wanted her to take over the company reins. I’m not as well-suited, even though I want to - and Whitley is _completely_ useless, the selfish little toad. But it’s too late; she’s even more stubborn than me, and won’t change her mind for anything.”

Pyrrha nodded to herself as Danny And The Juniors came on the jukebox. A few of the kids in the far corner got up and started to dance, even though it always made the elderly man behind the counter roll his eyes. Privately, Weiss thought that if he hated modern music so much, he shouldn’t provide it for the clientele.

“Well… are you _sure_ you want to take over the business?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not set in stone. If you want to do something else with your life, I think you should. We only go around once, don’t we?”

“Thanks,” Weiss snorted as she patted Pyrrha’s hand. “You’re a peach, Pyrrha. But no… I do think I’d like to take over Schnee Communications. Really do something big with it.” She noticed her other hand was tapping the stem of her soda glass, and she smiled. “Did you want to dance?”

“Hm? Dance? Me? To what?”

“To ‘At The Hop’, you dunce,” she giggled.

“With _you?”_ An instant later, she blanched and followed up, “N-not that there’s anything wrong with that! I just m-meant… well, we’re in public, a-and I’m not like you are, a-and-”

“No one cares if two girls dance together, Pyrrha. As long as we don’t start necking in the middle of the malt shop, it’s fine! Besides… maybe we’ll get asked to dance by boys.”

Still flushed, Pyrrha glanced over shoulder at the crowd. “You really think so?”

“I do. And who knows? Might get your mind off a certain Jaune Arc.”

“Shhh!” she hissed, but even while Weiss was giggling she slid out of the booth and grabbed her by the hand, dragging her just far enough from their booth to dance.

Neither of them were very good at it, but at least enough to keep time with the music and avoid knocking anything - or _anyone_ \- to the floor. Weiss had to admit she was impressed with Pyrrha’s jitterbugging, and even herself for not falling on her behind even once. She did see out of the corner of her eye that a few of the boys were watching them with slight astonishment, but she made up her mind not to care; if she projected confidence, showed that she didn’t care in the slightest, they would eventually go back to their own dance partners. And she was right; a couple of other girls did the same, and even two boys, laughing at the absurdity. Maybe they would start a trend!

When “All Shook Up” came on next, she couldn’t seem to help herself; she really thought Elvis was _the most_. Pyrrha took a step back and let Weiss put on a show by herself, mostly just swaying and snapping her fingers. Neither of them minded much, and she got a few cheers when the song ended. Vaguely embarrassed, she curtsied and moved to sit down.

Then someone put in another dime and cued up “Lollipop”. Pyrrha kept dancing, but Weiss decided that it was time to put on a show of a different kind.

“Call my baby lollipop, tell you why,” she belted out in time with the Chordettes, earning her wolf-whistles and thunderous applause from all but the elderly soda jerk. “His kiss is sweeter than an apple pie! And when he does his shaky rockin' dance, man, I haven't got a chance!”

Everyone started singing along with the chorus, and Pyrrha laughed and clapped louder, clearly enjoying herself. Weiss was, too. For some reason, she had always thought it too unseemly to dance in public anytime other than an actual school sock hop. Singing was another matter, but her father expected her to keep her performances to operetta and hymns. As much as she liked popular music, it was discouraged and seen as “pedestrian”, so she had never owned any records of her own.

Finally worn out, the two of them finished off their drinks and then made their way home. If they settled in quickly, they could study for an hour or so before suppertime.

However, as it turned out, life had other plans.

“Weiss!” her father called out as they passed through the living room. “May I speak with you a moment?”

“Yes, Father?”

He glanced pointedly at Pyrrha. “Alone?”

“Sorry,” she whispered to her friend. “I’ll be up in a minute?” Pyrrha nodded, waving at Mr. Schnee as she headed upstairs. He did not deign to acknowledge her.

“Good. Sit.” He motioned to the couch before reclaiming his armchair. Weiss obeyed, sitting primly on the edge of the cushion. “I was hoping you would be able to shed some light on certain information that has come into my possession.”

“Sorry, what information is that?”

“Apparently, you have been consorting with known delinquents.”

As she stared at her father, the bottom dropped out of Weiss's stomach. Someone had seen her with Yang. Who?! They hadn't been very discreet so it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise that they had been caught - and yet it did. She was completely gobsmacked. Still, there was no reason to cop to everything right away; maybe he didn't know very much, and she certainly didn't want to accidentally volunteer information that wasn't necessary to volunteer.

“What?”

“Don't play coy with me,” he went on with a slight sneer that lifted the corner of his mustache. “Whitley saw you sneaking out of the house in the dead of night. What could you have been thinking?”

It was worse than she thought. Of course her father would believe Whitley, that little toad. “W-well, I only went to retrieve a school book I loaned out.”

“To that Chinese girl, hmm?”

“Yes. I'm helping her with math and-”

“You expect me to believe that the only reason you climbed down the side of our home was to retrieve a book? Just what sort of fool do you take me for?”

“The best sort! Wait- I mean, no fool at all, Sir!”

Shaking his head, he crossed his legs and leaned heavily against one elbow. “All the money spent on tutoring, already wasted when you insisted on going to a public school instead of a private academy. Your mother made the inane decision that if it was what you wanted, it was worth the sacrifice. And now look where we are! You’re running around Vale with some kind of… opium fiends on motorbikes!”

“Opium…” Weiss rolled her eyes when she made the connection. “Just because she’s half-Chinese doesn’t mean she’s ever even _seen_ opium, Father. And as far as I know, she hasn’t!”

“Oh, really? You have enough experience with the fruit of the poppy that you can tell the difference?”

It was very difficult for her not to get upset with him. “I’ve literally never spent a moment thinking about her being Chinese. She’s being raised by her mother, who’s from America.”

“Hmph. The fact remains, she is not the sort of friend you ought to be keeping company with. I forbid you to see her anymore.”

“You what?” Blinking up at him, she waited for him to elaborate, or to rescind his edict. He did not. So she burst out, “You can’t do that!”

“I just have.”

“But she’s-” It took quite a lot of effort to suppress some kind of ill-conceived confession of love. “Father, she needs my help in school, a-and we’re good friends! And you won’t tell me I’m not to see her!”

His eyes flashed dangerously. “Watch your tongue, young lady. This is my house, and what I say goes.”

“NO!”

“Excuse me?”

“Not this time!” she snapped, leaping to her feet. She knew this wasn’t a spectacular idea, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself; it was as if the anger pulsing behind her temples was taking over her body, separating her from being able to command it any longer. “All I ever do is what you tell me to! I’m a good student, I practice my singing every day, a-and I’ve even been keeping up with tennis! _With Yang!_ So why… I mean, how can you forbid me to see someone you don’t even know? That isn’t fair!”

She could have predicted he would say “Life isn’t fair” before he even formed the words, and was only further angered to hear him say them after all.

“So what?! That doesn’t mean you have to be unfair along with it!”

Jacques Schnee shot to his feet and snatched up her bicep, jerking her forcibly toward him with an iron grip. His cold eyes stabbed down into her own and her heart stopped beating to see his barely-concealed rage.

“You will stop speaking to me in this manner, and you still stop associating with the Chinese girl. My decision is final. If you continue to disobey me, there will be further consequences. Do I make myself clear?”

“No.”

“Try that again,” he growled, shaking her arm.

She didn’t know why she said it. Her father had already proven he had no interest in what she had to say at all. Perhaps it was the fact that Yang had become a lot more important to her than she ever thought possible, and that connection was too precious to be severed for no reason other than Yang’s race and the fact that she wore a leather jacket. Something within her was glowing white-hot and could not be cooled down until it burned something else.

“Or what? You’re going to hit me? _Again?_ Like you hit mother when you think we’re not looking? Like she hits Whitley when he smarts off? Is that just what this family does? It’s pathetic! _You_ are pathetic!”

His eyes flicked to her scar, and Weiss felt the dark thrill of a very unsatisfying triumph. A rough shove sent her falling against the couch, grasping at the arm to keep from winding up in the floor.

“I knew it was a mistake to entrust my company’s future to a woman. You never see the bigger picture. Whitley may be a low-grade moron, but at least he understands loyalty. All you care about is your sock hops and giggling with the girls - now including some foreign wok-woman. Squandering your potential. There’s too much of your mother in you.”

“I don’t care,” she lied as the tears began. How desperately she wished they wouldn’t.

“You will. When I’m disciplining you until you straighten up and act in a way befitting the Schnee name, you’ll care.” Smoothing the front of his suit, which had barely been disturbed at all by shoving his daughter, he grunted, “Get up and stop that blubbering.”

Weiss obeyed. Back straight, she stared him down, even as her cheeks glistened.

“Better. Now, you will sever all contact with the ruffian girl, and you will focus on your studies. Is that clear?”

“It’s clear.”

“Do you promise to obey me?”

Teeth clenched, she hissed, “Never.” His hand came down hard across her face. “AH!”

“Do you promise to obey me?!”

Furious in a way she didn’t know she could be, Weiss turned and screamed, _“NEVER!_ I’ll never obey! You can slap me, you can kick me, y-you can chop me into pieces and feed me to the birds! I don’t care! I’m never going to let you tell me who I can and can’t be friends with, EVER!”

For a long moment, he regarded her and the angry red throbbing on her cheek. His face was completely impassive, even though he was breathing hard. Then he turned to stare into the unlit fireplace.

“That’s _‘with whom_ I can and can’t be friends’. Clearly, she’s already having a detrimental effect on your grammar.” The sigh was weary, as if this were nothing more than a tedious board meeting. “Very well. I’ll take care of the matter myself. And don’t think there won’t be further consequences.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

“You’ll see.” Turning back, he glared down at her. “You are dismissed. Go and study. Do something useful for a change.”

After a few seconds of huffing and puffing, Weiss managed to growl out “I _hate_ you!” before she fled from the room and stomped upstairs.

She had fully intended on going to her room. Pyrrha was probably worried about the screaming, if she hadn’t somehow missed all the noise. Halfway there, she changed direction and burst into the drawing room, fists vibrating at her sides.

“MOTHER!”

Willow Schnee was draped over the piano bench, an empty bottle of red wine dangling in her loose grip. This was sadly a standard state of being for the woman; it had been for many years. Weiss had some hazy memories of a glamourous woman who didn’t fall to pieces so often, who could resist the pull of strong spirits. Hazy, distant, and with no impact on the present day.

“Wha…?”

Sinking to her knees beside her, Weiss sniffled and whispered, “He hit me again! H-he promised he wouldn’t, and he did, a-and I… Mommy, I need you to come back! Come back to us!”

The skin between the woman’s perfect eyebrows crinkled as she tried to think her way through the fog of alcohol. “Hm?”

“He slapped me! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Oh… no, no he didn’t. He said no more… only me.” She groaned and pushed a hand into her face. “Winter, stop the train, Mommy needs to lie down…”

Of course it was useless. Sighing, she took the bottle and set it aside, then managed to heave her mother to her feet and guide her to the chaise lounge under the window. The setting sun was just starting to pinken the sky, and she thought the view might help.

“Please don’t go,” Mrs. Schnee murmured. “I… want to… you were always so sweet, Weiss…”

“At least you got my name right that time,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Leaning down, she pressed her lips into her mother’s pale forehead. She and Winter looked the most alike, and she definitely had their mother’s gentle eyes. But Weiss had her nominal stature and her angelic singing voice, which were nothing to sneeze at. “Mother?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

“Mmm…” Her hand came up to rest on the side of Weiss’s neck. “Love you, too, sweetheart. You’re my little…”

Before she could even finish her sentence, her arm flopped to one side and she began to doze. “Snow Angel,” she finished for her. That was most likely what she had been about to say. Weiss decided to leave her there and simply sneak back out of the room. Compared to that mess, her life was entirely tolerable.

When she regained the safety of her own room, she found Pyrrha twisting the hem of her long poodle skirt in her hands. She looked _panicked._ Seeing her friend in the doorway, she stood, eyes full of fear as she whispered, “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Edging the door closed, she approached her desk in the corner and rested a hand on her books. “Let’s just… do our homework.”

“Your face…”

“What about it? Am I really that hideous?”

Pyrrha put her hands on her friend’s shoulders and held her fast. “Don’t do that. He… he shouldn’t be allowed to…”

Suddenly, Weiss needed to be alone. She wouldn’t tell Pyrrha to leave, but that didn’t prevent the desire from rising up powerfully within her. The desire to disappear. The desire to be _anyone_ but a Schnee. “Nothing happened. Do you understand?”

“I don’t,” she whispered in a tight voice. “I can’t pretend this away, Weiss.”

“Then try. Try really, _really_ hard.”

Then arms were around her, holding her as close as was possible. Even though she hated herself for it, would have given the entirety of her trust fund away to stem the flow, the tears started pouring forth in earnest. And they didn’t stop for some time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christma... well, Boxing Day! Sorry this chapter isn't exactly the most festive it could have been. Hopefully you enjoy it anyway!


	10. Chapter 10

**=Chapter 10**

Given how unpleasant that entire experience had been, Weiss really hoped the next day would be better. It had to be; having her father attack her for the second time in her life was an all-time low, even if it had been such a glancing blow. Between that and getting threatened with an actual firearm, she was ready to enjoy a few stress-free days.

But that was not meant to be. The moment Yang snubbed her in the hallway, she knew something was wrong, but couldn’t catch up to ask what. The rest of the morning was an awful nightmare of worrying about that and flashing back to the slap itself.

At lunch, the Dragons seemed quiet and somber. Even though she had this feeling she shouldn’t intrude, she still approached anyway.

“Hey, girls. What’s buzzing?”

They all stared. _All_ of them - and they were staring the way Cinder always stared, as if annoyed at her very existence. Her thumb rubbed back and forth over the corner of her lunch tray. Someone coughed. When nobody had spoken for a few seconds, she figured she may as well try again as stand there and wait for grass to grow.

“So maybe it’s Opposite Day and nobody told me, but normally, when you greet someone, the custom is to greet them back.” No reaction. “Wow, nothing? Nothing at all?”

“Scram, Schnee,” Emerald finally grunted, turning back around to her tray.

“What? What is the matter with everyone?” But they didn’t answer. Trying another tack, she said, “Yang?”

No answer. That was the one that hurt the worst; Yang wasn’t even looking at her anymore. Just turned to stare into the corner, her face a completely unreadable mask.

“Fine. Excuse me for breathing your air. Enjoy your meal, ladies.”

As she retreated to the table where Pyrrha was just getting settled in, she let out a shaky sigh. Her entire body was trembling, and her face was hot. Why did she feel so _stupid?_ Even though she had done nothing wrong, the way they treated her felt like this newly-minted silence had been her fault somehow. That she had ruined something without ever knowing about it. But what could she have done?

“Trouble in paradise?” Pyrrha asked cautiously, her smile clearly pained.

“I don’t know what’s the matter with them!” Weiss hissed as she sat. “This is- even when I was just some paper shaker, they didn’t act _this_ cold toward me. So what happened?”

Swallowing her gulp of milk, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “I couldn’t tell you if I wanted to. But I am sorry, Weiss. You really don’t need this on top of…”

They both fell silent for a moment. Then another voice asked, “On top of what?”

“Huh?” Weiss stared between Penny and Ruby for a moment before demanding, “How long have you two been here?”

“Just a second or two,” Penny went on with a vague smile. “On top of what?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” Ruby insisted with a slight frown. “What’s going on?”

Pyrrha quickly covered, “An argument with her parents.” It was at least truthful, even if it left out the worst of it.

“Parents are the worst,” Ruby laughed in an easy manner, opening her bagged lunch. Her face crumpled. “Eww… Uncle Qrow, no…”

“What is it this time?” Penny asked politely.

“Sardines and Spam. _Again._ Can’t he just let me buy the groceries and make my own meals? I can do better than this!”

Chuckling against her own wishes, Weiss stared down at her own tray. “At least he tries.”

The table fell silent for a moment or two. Then Ruby glanced over at the Dragons table, which was still sombre and quiet, and back to her two newest friends. She debated for a moment, fingers fidgeting with her silverware. Then she asked, “Is Yang okay?”

“I guess so. I don’t know. She won’t talk to me today, and I’m not sure why.”

“Hmm. Well, she does that sometimes. It’s probably nothing.”

“About that…” Glancing at Pyrrha, she went on, “That was completely unacceptable for her to treat you like that the other day. I think you’re a swell gal and a swell sister. And I think I was maybe getting Yang to realise she was being a pest, but she stopped talking to me today, so…”

Shaking her head so that her hair flopped around, Ruby bit into her sandwich and chewed, then said with her mouth still partly full, “Don’t worry about it. That’s just Yang.”

“Gross, close your mouth,” she couldn’t help saying, and Ruby grinned around the mouthful, which only made her laugh. “You’re such a cube. But… thanks.”

“Anytime.”

“And I will also talk to you with food in my mouth anytime!” Penny put in with an emphatic nod. The rest of them laughed. At least there was _something_ to raise their spirits.

* * *

The situation didn’t improve for the rest of the day. Between every class, she looked for Yang and never seemed to catch her. When the final bell of the day rang, she quickly sprinted from class straight to the parking lot where the bikes were racked up.

They had the same idea. Everyone was gone. She thought she could hear them racing off into the town, but it could just as easily have been anything. Dejected, she made her way back to her locker.

“Maybe this will be healthy for you,” Pyrrha said as they gathered their things to go home.

“Oh, really? And how is it ‘healthy’ that I can’t see my… my new friend?” Even now, it was still too difficult for her to use the word “girlfriend”, even if most people wouldn’t quite understand how she meant it.

“Well… it gives you time apart, to evaluate what you mean to each other. And I know that doesn’t sound very encouraging, I know! Just… trying to help.”

As they walked, she patted her arm and sighed. “I know, Pyrrha. I know. Just drive me home so I can start moping.”

So they went home. The day remained uneventful, despite a half-second in which her father asked if she was doing her homework, and she went upstairs and slammed her bedroom door resolutely. The last thing she wanted was to be forced to spend more time in the same room with him than was strictly necessary.

The weekend came, and she had no better idea of what was going on than she had before. Yang stubbornly avoided her, and she hadn’t bothered approaching the Dragons table during lunch again. The temptation was there to storm Yang’s hideout or Shopkeeper’s, but she knew that was a little reckless. After all, if Yang was upset with her for some reason, literally walking into the Dragons’ den was a foolhardy move, indeed. And going to her house was _definitely_ out.

Saturday evening, she could stand it no longer. Pyrrha was more than happy to drop her off in a certain area of the neighbourhood without asking too many questions. They made an agreement that she would return an hour later to retrieve her, and she would go willingly either way.

Weiss sat in the train depot for the entire time, alternately crying and angry. How could she ignore her this way? What had she done wrong? Her mind raced over the last few conversations over and over, trying to find some awful thing she had said, either on purpose or on accident. Nothing stood out to her. So why couldn’t Yang at least have the common courtesy to tell her _why_ she was being given the cold shoulder?

So it was that a distraught and dejected Weiss rode back home in defeat. Pyrrha ran into the malt shop and brought her back a chocolate malted in a paper cup, hoping it would help. It didn’t, but she blubbered her thanks through a curtain of tears.

Sometime Monday morning, a visibly shaken Ruby found Weiss leaning against locker 134 and reported that she had tried to talk to Yang about the situation, and had been shouted at to mind her own business and leave her alone. Weiss embraced the younger girl, offering the comfort that Pyrrha had been giving to her so often these days. For that reason alone, Weiss decided that this had gone on long enough.

* * *

“Get off. Now.”

“No,” Weiss said, folding her arms as she got even more comfortable on the motorcycle seat. “Not until we have a conversation.”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Yang told her very clearly, eyes blazing as they stared her down.

“Too bad. Do you know Ruby cried on me today?”

Her jaw clenched. “So what?”

“So? She’s your sister, and she was upset. I don’t care if she was being a pest, you know it’s not right to treat her that way when she only-”

“I’ll throw you off that bike if you don’t get off on your own.”

Weiss Schnee had definitely reached her limit. “Fine. Throw me off, then. Do whatever you have to do.”

Yang grasped her around the waist, and Weiss flinched in fear. She was really going to do it. There was no sense in fighting back; everyone was out to get her lately. When Yang hesitated, eyes flicking between hers and the blacktop, she snapped, “What are you waiting for?!”

“Not worth it. A rat ain’t worth the effort.” She merely shoved Weiss aside and straddled her bike.

“Rat? What do you…” As the bike started up, she ran forward and gripped the handlebar. “I’m a rat? Why? What did I do?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I trusted you, and now…” She shook her head. “I thought you were different. But you stabbed me in the back like all the others. Dragons can only trust Dragons, I guess.”

These accusations were so unfair and so unexpected that Weiss let go, and Yang turned the bike to leave. So she blurted out, “I wouldn’t! I didn’t!”

“You did.”

“Yang! Come on, why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t.” Her voice was harsher as she snapped, “I still like you, Schnee. But as it turns out, _you’re_ the dangerous one. Goodbye.”

“WAIT!” But it was no use. She stumbled a few steps and went down hard on her knees as Yang drove off, feeling the bite of concrete as it tore through her skin.

Not that she cared. All she cared about was that she had been abandoned. The same as her mother had abandoned her for wine, her sister had abandoned her for school. Her father had abandoned caring about his daughter’s heart in favour of forcing her to fall in line. Even though she knew it was ungrateful, considering Pyrrha was such a good friend, in that moment she felt completely alone. All she wanted was to be held by Yang again, told she was beautiful. To be with the one woman she cared about most…

Who no longer cared about her at all.

She heard the sounds of a motorcycle revving, and her head jerked up in a vain hope. But it was only Blake, staring down at her as she got ready to take off. She lowered her head and looked away. Whatever was going on with Yang was clearly why the other girls were equally upset with her. If she couldn’t even get her own girlfriend to listen, there was no point in wasting her effort.

As it turned out, that effort was not needed. Blake snapped, “Get on.”

“Huh?”

“I said, get on, Weiss. Or are you deaf _and_ stupid?”

That was unusually acidic from the Italian Dragon. But when she looked up at her properly, she saw Blake really was idling and waiting for Weiss to hop on the back of her motorcycle. Cautiously, she stood, ignoring the sting in her knees.

“What… why? I m-mean, what do you want from me?”

“To get. On. The. Bike.”

The tone brooked no argument. Though Weiss was through being pushed around, in that moment, losing Yang so completely had taken all her willpower away. No longer caring what happened, she climbed on behind Blake, looping her arms loosely around her trim stomach. It wasn’t the same as with Yang, because Blake was toned but not brawny, but it was physical warmth that she wished she didn’t appreciate.

“Hold on tight. If you fall off, I’m not going back for you.”

That harshness fit right in with the theme of the whole weekend, so she didn’t even comment as Blake peeled out from the parking lot.

* * *

Within minutes, they had arrived at a cozy little home on the edge of town. While it was two floors, they were both rather small floors with small rooms comprising them. The front garden was patchy, but at least it was mowed, unlike that of Raven’s abode. A relatively-fresh coat of pale blue paint covered the entirety of the edifice, and an old white-and-brown Ford rested in the driveway, behind which they were parking.

Blake put down the kickstand and waited for Weiss to hop off, which she did. She didn’t speak. All the fight was truly gone out of her as she allowed Blake to herd her inside.

“Blake?” a voice called out from the kitchen. “Is that you?”

“Yeah!” she shouted back, pocketing her keys as Weiss glanced around the living room. It was less depressing than Yang’s, but still shabby; she felt spoiled when she thought about her own luxury furniture, and Pyrrha’s parents’ living room suit was also quite expensive. “I picked up a stray!”

After a few seconds, Kali Belladonna appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen - and Weiss felt her breath catch. The woman was practically _naked_. Yes, she had an apron covering her, but underneath that she was wearing naught but a bra and a pair of white shorts more suited to summer than the impending autumn weather. Below that, her olive-hued tapering legs and dainty feet were entirely unfettered. And Weiss didn’t even want to _think_ about how much she could see above the waist!

“Oh!” she exclaimed softly, lips pulling into a slight smile as she gripped the ladle in both hands. “Well, well, if it isn’t Yang’s new pet Schnee.”

“I… I…” Why couldn’t she talk? Why couldn’t she stop looking at the woman’s body? It was maddening!

“And still a wolf in lamb’s clothing, I see.”

That tone of voice showed she was definitely pleased with the attention, and Weiss felt her cheeks getting hotter. Blake folded her arms over her chest and grunted, “Can you put on some clothes, Mom? Then maybe our guest can focus.”

“Of course,” she laughed, though she didn’t seem at all embarrassed. Weiss supposed that made sense; she was the unexpected guest in the elder woman’s home, so of course she wouldn’t be dressed for company. Even if she might at least be _dressed._ “Keep your friend warm for me.”

As Kali returned to the kitchen, Blake gestured for Weiss to sit on the couch, so she did as she hissed, “I don’t know why, but when your mother is dressed like that, I can’t seem to-”

“She has that effect. On everybody. It’s… kind of a drag. Nobody even looks twice at me while Mom’s in the room. But who can blame them? She really is gorgeous.”

Weiss’s heart sank. That certainly wasn’t fair, especially when Blake was quite attractive herself. “Oh… I’m sorry. That really isn’t-”

“Spare me, Weiss. You have some explaining to do.”

“Huh?”

“And listen,” she went on, amber eyes going even sharper and more threatening than they had been before. “This is your last- no, your _only_ chance. If I don’t hear something really good in the next few minutes, I won’t be able to stop the Dragons from whooping you to a bloody pulp.”

“Excuse me?” Blake didn’t rescind her threat, so she swallowed hard. “What did I do? I’m not stupid, I can tell you’re all mad at me, but I have no idea why!”

Blake squinted at her. “You really don’t? You don’t remember telling your Papa where the parlay was going to take place?”

That sudden shift in topics startled her. “Parlay? Hey, I don’t actually know where-”

“Then how did the cops know where to find it? Huh? Why did they mention your father’s name while they were rounding up everyone there?” She laughed harshly, anger getting the better of her if the way her boot heel was jigging up and down at a frantic pace was any indication. “Or they tried, anyway. Nothing illegal was going on, so they had to turn everybody loose.”

“No, I had no idea. Yang told me you were meeting, but I don’t know anything else; I don’t even know where it was or what the parlay was about! Why would my father…”

Then she fell silent. So silent that Blake had to poke her after several seconds. “Hey, I’m still talking to you.”

“Oh no… I think…” Horrified, she looked up at Blake as a chill tiptoed up her spine. “I think he did this to teach me a lesson. But how did he figure out where it was?”

“What do you mean?”

So Weiss related the incident with her father from the week before. Though Blake visibly winced when she mentioned being slapped, she otherwise stayed silent, brooding eyes pointing down at the battered old coffee table more often than at Weiss herself. Her fingers laced and she pushed them up against her chin, taking in every word.

“So he said he was going to stop you from seeing Yang his own way,” she breathed at last.

“Yeah. But I don’t know how he did it, if he did. I mean, I didn’t even see Yang outside of school that day!”

Blake sat back and ran her fingers through the fringe of her hair. As she was contemplating, Kali re-entered, wearing a fairly normal floral-print dress for a housewife. Sensing the mood, she asked, “I take it someone will be needing my hearty chicken noodle?”

“Your dad had Yang followed,” Blake said, as if there were no interruption. Kali fell silent. “That’s the only thing that makes sense. You said your brother already noticed you hanging out with her; he’s a couple of grades below you, right?”

“Right,” Weiss breathed softly.

“Then after he saw you sneak out that one night, he probably saw you hanging out with a Dragon in school and put two and two together. Maybe Whitley followed Yang, or maybe your dad called the police right away. But somehow, they knew we were meeting at Junior’s.”

Tilting her head slightly. “Ohhh… but I thought Junior’s was a Dragons place.”

“It’s neutral territory. The Dragons tend to go there more often, but a lot of Huntsmen stop by to see the Malachite Sisters dance. Well… we all do,” she admitted with a slight smirk.

“We’ve been laying low these past few days,” Kali added as she sank down on Weiss’s other side. “Without any illicit activities to hold us on, all the police could do was grill the Dragons and Huntsmen for an hour or two and let them go.”

“Weren’t you there?” Weiss asked in a meek voice.

“I might be an older member, but I’ve never had much of a taste for, uh, _inter-organizational__ affairs_ unless my presence is required. I stayed back at Shopkeep’s and tended to things there while Salem and the others went to meet with the Huntsmen.” She nodded, and Kali petted up and down her back. “Are you alright?”

“No. It’s my fault.”

Sighing, she glanced up at Blake, who definitely wasn’t changing her position; she seemed to agree with Weiss, which suited the princess just fine. “Don’t think that way. You had no idea there would-”

“No, no, it is. The others tried to tell me that… that I couldn’t handle being with Yang, a-and the life the Dragons lead, and even Pyrrha warned me that I was getting in over my head! But I w-was stubborn, and really… I thought I could just be friends with everyone! And now look at this mess, and- and Yang _hates_ me! All because I didn’t listen!”

That was as far as she got before she broke down sobbing. Kali wrapped her arms around her and continued smoothing up and down her back, shushing her gently and rocking her. After the first few seconds, she abandoned all pretense of aloofness and clung back, pressing her face into the neck of the comforting presence. She smelled like chicken broth and flowers, and she couldn’t help thinking in the back of her mind that _this_ was what a mother was supposed to be like. Not the shell of a woman who was probably already drunk in her drawing room.

After several minutes that might as well have been an hour, Mrs. Belladonna pushed her gently back and offered a handkerchief. The way Blake was standing over them now made her think she had been the one to fetch it, but she busied herself dabbing at her eyes and trying to stem her sobs.

“There, there,” Kali whispered with a matronly smile. “Little Weiss… you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Hasn’t she?” Blake grumbled, but Kali’s look silenced any further scathing words.

“I thought… I thought it would be okay,” Weiss blubbered, hating her own voice. “Why was I so stupid?”

Cupping her face with her other hand, Kali took over dabbing at her cheeks and eyes. “Not stupid. Just naive. And honestly, I don’t think you had any reason to expect your father would take out his frustration with you on the Dragons. Not when you’ve spent your whole life in that gilded cage of his, never learning how the rest of the world works.”

The words felt vaguely insulting, but they were also a hundred percent true. Fresh shame flooded into her face and neck. “I’m sorry! I didn’t- I w-wanted- Yang! I want Yang!” That was even _more_ childish.

“I’m sure. And I’m sure you want a father who supports you, and a mother who’s active in your life. We don’t always get what we want, and sometimes we don’t get what we _need,_ either.” The kiss to her forehead was gentle, affectionate. “Like a family. That was what you were starting to think you could have with us, wasn’t it?”

“I…” The revelation startled her, even though it probably shouldn’t have. “Yes. But that’s crazy!”

“Not so crazy, Schnee,” Blake admitted, though her voice was begrudging. “That’s what I feel with them. And… I could tell you were getting there yourself, before all this. That’s why it stung so bad when I heard ‘Jacques Schnee was right’ from one of the fuzz. I thought you stabbed Yang in the back, which is the one thing I could _never_ forgive.”

Anger began to rise alongside Weiss’s sadness. “That… that bastard! How dare he take this out on an entire group of women, just because I wouldn’t do what he wanted! It’s so… so… I don’t know!”

“Manipulative? Petty?” Kali’s guesses got Weiss nodding, so she sighed and patted her shoulder. “I agree. But I can also understand his perspective.”

“You can?” Blake demanded.

“Yes. In his mind, he’s trying to protect his daughter from the dangerous world of biker gangs. He’s making the mistake so many parents always make: deciding he knows what’s best for his children without really _listening_ to them at all. And since we’re technically a ‘criminal element’, he probably felt absolutely no remorse about calling the police and telling them to follow the blonde on the Harley, since she presented the most clear danger to his daughter’s safety and future.”

“I can’t believe you’re defending him, Mom. I can’t believe you think what he did is… is justifiable!”

“Oh, it’s not. He struck his own child.” Her hand gripped Weiss’s shoulder tighter, and she blinked in mild surprise and pain. “That’s _never_ justifiable. I felt guilty enough paddling your butt with a wooden spoon when you were little to get you to stop playing in the street, much less something this reprehensible.”

Blake’s eyes were rolling at the memory of the spankings, and that might have been a faint blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. But Weiss was distracted. “He said… he wouldn’t do it again. After the last time. It’s been a couple of years, so I thought… maybe he really…”

“Maybe he really meant it?” Kali pulled her in to embrace her again. “I know, sweetie. I know.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment as Weiss sighed. She was mostly all cried out, but still appreciated the closeness. Then she let out a weak little chuckle before whispering, “The way you kept flirting with me, I expected this to be… different.”

“Oh, come on,” Kali laughed warmly. “Nobody takes my flirting seriously. Besides, there’s a big difference between you needing a mother and needing to be teased. Wisdom is knowing which situation needs which action, and right now, this is what you need.”

“Thank you,” she breathed.

“But I’ll be happy to flirt with you again another time.”

Glancing up at Blake, Weiss noticed that same resigned, annoyed-yet-uncomfortable look she’d caught in her features whenever her mother came up in conversation. This time, she understood it; Blake felt awkward watching her mother make passes at the other Dragons like that. Very relatable. If she ever watched her own mother dressing in naught but shorts and an apron, commenting on boys or girls her own age, it would make her want to vomit.

“Thanks… again. I think.”

“Sweetheart.” Her hands cupped Weiss’s face. “You need a mother. And though you haven’t said it outright, I have a feeling yours is never there for you when you need her most. I’m not some kind of old letch that I’d use that to my advantage.”

“Sure you aren’t,” Blake muttered out the side of her mouth. “Anyway, what do we do about the Dragons? They’re all mad at Weiss, and it turns out they have a reason to be. Even if she didn’t do it on purpose, she got her daddy all hot under the collar, and he took it out on us.”

Kali nodded with a sigh, still petting over Weiss’s hair. “You’re right. I think you could intercede on her behalf with Yang, give her a vote of confidence, but the rest… I don’t know.”

“You say that like I actually want to.”

“_Blake Adriana Belladonna!”_ she hissed sharply enough that it made both girls flinch.

“O-okay, okay,” Blake said, clearing her throat a moment later. “Fine. You’re right, I… you’re right. I knew Weiss wasn’t a bad apple. It just felt so…”

With a patient sigh, Kali reached out her free hand, and Blake gave up one of her own to let her squeeze it. “I know, _figlia mia._ You still have all these feelings of hurt and betrayal, and hearing Weiss cry and say she’s ‘sorry’ isn’t enough to make them disappear.”

“Yeah.”

“I really am sorry,” Weiss assured her immediately, stricken and desperate for someone, _anyone_ to believe her. “I’d never hurt Yang! Or any of you, I- well, maybe Cinder…”

That made Blake snort. At least it was laughter, even if brief laughter. “Can’t say I never thought that myself. And… oh, alright, I forgive you. All you did wrong was… was not predict what your father would do, which I don’t know how you could have done, anyway.”

“But even if I did, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. I mean… what kind of person would I be if I let him tell me not to see Yang anymore?”

“Not one I would respect.” Her lips pulled into a dark little smile. “You really must have ticked him off if he hit you. Could have taken the easy way out, said you’d stop seeing her and then did it behind his back… and you didn’t, you stood up to him. Kinda stupid, but I respect your courage.”

“So do I,” Kali told her earnestly. “I was a little worried when I heard your surname. Still am, if I’m being honest. But right now, I can tell that you had the best of intentions.”

Stupid but brave. Weiss would take that any day of the week over simply being hated. “Thank you - both of you, so much. Just… what do I do next? You and all the Dragons are in the soup because of me, and I have to fix this somehow, don’t I?”

“Well… there’s really no two ways about it.” Glancing up at her daughter, who only seemed curious what she would say next, she sighed and nodded to herself. “You’re going to have to meet with Salem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everybody! One last chapter before I wrap up 2019. I think I was a lot more productive than last year (which wasn't that hard to do but shhhhhh). At least this chapter is one that _really_ moves the plot forward, one to chew on. See you in 2020!
> 
> -NBW


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Pain and scarification, urine.

**=Chapter 11**

Shopkeeper’s went dead silent the moment Weiss entered with the Belladonnas. It was a lot emptier than usual to begin with; most tables were empty, and Ilia wasn’t buzzing around. Blake was probably relieved about that. Meanwhile, Vernal and the pair of older women at one of the tables gave them a nasty look when they saw the platinum-haired girl in their midst again.

“Well, well,” Cinder called out harshly from their usual corner. Emerald was there, sipping at a glass, but the others were nowhere to be found. “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”

“Enough,” said Kali, and Cinder fell silent, not having expected the older woman to address her. “She’s going straight through to the boss.”

The smouldering eyes flew wide. After a moment, she stood up and approached the three, who were now closer to the center of the establishment. “Want me to take her?”

“Please.”

“Got it.” Now, Cinder seemed to be playing her emotions close to the chest, whereas her hostility had been open and raw a moment before. Her eyes were calculating, moving between Weiss and the two Italian Dragons on either side of her. “I’ll… go ask. What should I tell her?”

“That she wishes to be tested.”

“Alright.”

With that, Cinder slipped into the back room. The instant she was gone, Blake moved to sit with Emerald, and Kali turned Weiss just enough so that she could catch hold of her shoulders. The leather jacket looked a little strange on top of the pretty dress, but also somehow suited the older woman. Weiss would have to remember that combination for the future.

“Remember what I told you,” she said in a gentle voice. “It’s going to seem worse than it is. Just… bite your tongue when you feel the desire to shoot your mouth off, and keep to ‘Yes, High Dragon’ and ‘No, High Dragon’ as often as you can. If you do anything stupid, I’ll try to intercede on your behalf before you get roughed up, but try not to _need_ me to in the first place. I won’t be going in with you, and until you prove yourself, you can’t count on Cinder to watch your back since she still thinks you’re a stoolie.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised her with a sober nod. “I promise.”

“Alright.” Her lips pressed into Weiss’s forehead, and she sighed at the minimal comfort they provided. “Good luck. Be smart.”

It only took another minute or so for Cinder to ease the door open and say, “She’ll see you now.”

The back room was quite smoky, compared with the front room which was always smoke-free. Weiss coughed, not used to breathing in more than the occasional wisp of her father’s cigars. Several booths lined the smaller room, and in the very back corner was the shadowy figure she had glimpsed before, enshrouded in her cloak as always.

“Sit,” Salem ordered. Weiss sat across from her. “Cinder tells me you sought an audience.”

“Yes, High Dragon.”

A quiet hum of appreciation came from the shadows, and she saw Cinder nodding where she stood by the table out of the corner of her eye. But she didn’t make the mistake of letting herself get distracted; Kali had told her to keep her full attention on Salem at all times. Along with a lot of other things that she secretly hoped would never come into play… and that she didn’t forget them if they were needed.

“You have manners, after all. Now, what brings you here? Being tested? Do you understand what that means?”

“Yes, High Dragon. I wish to… apologise for what happened, and to explain. And b-be tested if it please you.”

“I don’t enjoy tall tales. You have one minute.”

So Weiss crammed her story into a single minute. She was still explaining what she had shouted at her father after he slapped her when Salem held up a pale hand to silence her. In the low lighting, she could tell it was yet paler than her own skin - almost completely devoid of any pigment at all. But she couldn’t see it for long enough to tell for certain before the hand withdrew into the shadows again.

“Very well. You stood in defiance and he struck you, and struck us. I expected no less of Jacques Schnee.”

“You know my father?”

“Not intimately. Only by reputation.” She produced a cigarette on a stem, and Cinder immediately leapt to light it for her, the Zippo seeming to come from nowhere. After a puff or two, she breathed a cloud in Weiss’s face, and she couldn’t help coughing. “Poor baby.”

“Sorry, High Dragon,” she gagged.

“You expect me to believe this fish story?”

“It is the truth. I… wish anything else had happened.”

“Then you are willing to submit to my test?”

The possibilities flashed through Weiss’s mind. Kali had told her about all of them, and while she despised some of the notions even more than the others, the idea of Yang and the rest of the Dragons never believing her was much worse. “I am, High Dragon. If it please you.”

“Very well. Cinder… fetch the box.”

With a clipped bow, Cinder went into a door leading off from the back of the back room. Though she didn’t take her eyes off the end of Salem’s glowing cigarette, her mind wandered to how the brunette Dragon was behaving. This was a level of obedience she didn’t even think Cinder was capable of. She never seemed to care much what anyone else thought or felt. Apparently, the boss truly commanded her respect in ways no one else could.

“Here, High Dragon,” she said as she set the small wooden chest down in the booth bench next to Salem.

“Thank you.” She flipped the top of the chest open and began to rummage around the inside. “Hmm… not today. I never use this on girls her age. That one is interesting…”

Gulping, Weiss finally did spare a glance at Cinder, and saw she was completely at ease. Not darkly excited to see her be tortured, but neither was she worried about Weiss at all. She was doing her job; a consummate professional.

“Here. Yes, I really feel this is the right way to go.”

When she looked to the tabletop, she saw Salem’s ghostly hand laying down a small metal implement. It was a branding iron, if Weiss didn’t miss her guess. The bottom of her stomach fell even further. Though it was not the worst of the possibilities Kali had told her about on the drive over - which she had seemingly given a miss due to her age - it was definitely not the least worrisome, either.

“Yes, High Dragon. Where…” She had to swallow down her fear, forcing her voice to be as steady as she could. “Where… will you…?”

“Ooh, brave girl,” she chuckled, motioning for Cinder to take it. She did, and flicked her lighter again, holding the flame on the business end of the brand. “That is the question, isn’t it? Where will you let me mark you forever?”

“I wouldn’t presume to tell you, High Dragon.”

“I’m asking. Where would you _prefer_ it?”

It didn’t take Weiss much time to think. “M-my back, somewhere. I think.”

“Hmm. That ashamed to see your pretty skin has been disfigured, are we? It already has been once.” The finger that lashed out to slide down the scar below her left eye was gone an instant after it appeared, not even giving Weiss enough time to flinch until afterward. “Very well. I think I should like you to come around here by me.”

As Weiss rounded the table, the mysterious woman moved the chest so that Weiss could sit. Then she put a hand in the middle of Weiss’s back. At first, she was confused, but the gentle pressure got her to bend over the table, knees resting on the bench.

“Good. I’ve made my decision, and I know what my target should be.” As the hand pressed her into the table a little harder, she asked, “You are aware of the consequences if you resist?”

“Yes, High Dragon.” Kali had told her; if she panicked and ran away, or otherwise interrupted the test, she would prove herself a coward and they would either have to start over, or she would simply never be trusted again, depending on Salem’s mood. It was not wise to challenge that mood at all.

But she felt sorely tempted to challenge when she felt a hand hiking her skirt up, tucking it into the collar of her sweater. She couldn’t help but let out a quiet “No” when she felt the fingers wrapping around the waistband of her panties.

“What was that?” Salem asked mildly.

“N-nothing, High Dragon,” she promised her.

“Good.” The underwear was yanked down - probably more violently due to her involuntary protest. A hand ghosted over one of her bare cheeks. Weiss had never felt her heart race this fast in her entire life, not even all those times Yang had kissed her. This was fear without any of the excitement, any guilty anticipation. Pure dread. “Are you right-handed or left-handed?”

“Left,” she told her.

“This one, then.” It was the left cheek already. “Cinder, is it ready?”

“Almost, High Dragon.” The flame from the lighter wasn’t big enough to have heated the hot poker yet.

“Here,” Salem said, pressing a leather cuff against Weiss’s mouth. When she only looked at her in confusion, she added, “To bite down on. Or don’t you want it?”

“Yes, High Dragrphhh,” she said as it was slid between her teeth. She hated to think about where the leather had been - or what it had been used for.

“Good girl. Cinder, show her.”

Then the brand was displayed to her eyes, glowing cherry red a few inches away so she could feel the warmth pouring off it in waves. The brand design was a very small version of the Asian dragon that graced the backs of their jackets. No letters, no other finery; only the dragon itself. After a second or two, Cinder took it away again, and the shadow of the image was still burned into her vision temporarily.

“Are you ready? A nod will do.” Weiss nodded, and Salem patted the small of her back as Cinder went back to heating it to make sure it was ready. “Now… do you swear to me that everything you have told me is the truth?” Another nod. “Do you swear loyalty to the Dragons above all others, including family, country, and other rival organizations?” Though she wanted to protest, she knew better than to openly defy Salem - especially under these circumstances. So she nodded again. “Do you swear to uphold our traditions, our ideals, and never to betray one of us to an outside party?” Another nod - and she hoped Salem couldn’t tell that her cheeks were clenching.

“Very well. Weiss Schnee, I hereby mark you as one of our own.”

It was only at that moment, between the words and the following action, that Weiss fully understood the implications of what she had just done. Blue eyes pulled wide as saucers, and her breath caught fast. She hadn’t simply assured the Dragons that she harboured no ill will toward them and was not directly responsible for the raid on Junior’s.

Weiss Schnee had _become_ a Dragon.

Then searing heat was biting into her hind-flesh, and she screamed.

Everything went blank for a few seconds, possibly minutes. When she could focus again, it was to feel a cold, wet cloth being pressed into the brand. It made her growl into the leather again, tasting her own tears that had ran down over her upper lip, but she held perfectly still.

“Good girl,” Salem purred softly, almost lovingly. “You didn’t even thrash or fall off the table. More of the girls do that than you would think, tough as they are now.”

The other hand jerked the leather free, and she saw her own teeth marks in it as it was taken away. Voice weak, she managed to mumble, “Tha… thank you, High Dragon.”

“You’re welcome.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cinder returning with a towel. “Ah, there we are. And you shouldn’t feel ashamed; better women than you have lost control when being branded. All in all, your voluntary reactions say _much_ more about you than the involuntary ones. A true Dragon should be able to stand a little fire, and you did. Very encouraging.”

Though Weiss was confused, she felt the towel sliding across the table and patting her inner thighs and the confusion was gone. She had wet herself. Why didn’t she even remember that taking place? Shame burned in her cheeks now that she realised that had happened, and she tried to turn her face away, but the feeling of the towel grazing her unmentionable area made it impossible to escape the reality entirely.

Clearly, Salem was going to leave it to Cinder to do the clean-up work, because she was focusing on words now. “So your father decided to take it upon himself to punish us all for your indiscretion?”

“H-he did, High Dragon. I had no idea until today, when… Blake told me about the raid.”

“Mmm. A powerful man like that has the ear of the Sheriff whenever he wishes.” Salem’s fingertips drummed on the table as she felt the cold cloth being flipped over on her burn, and she hissed from the pain. “And you have his ear, typically.”

“I do. When… when I’m behaving, he…”

“You’re going to maintain that. For now. We can use it to our advantage. For example… one of our own may lose her moll.”

“Velvet?” she asked, and she heard an approving hum. “I… I w-was going to talk to him about her father, High Dragon. She shouldn’t have to… to go all the way back to Australia.”

“You’re full of pleasant surprises, Rookie. Very well. Assure him that you’re back to being his perfect little girl. Be more discreet when venturing here or out with Yang. Ask for the favour. Velvet isn’t a Dragon - not _yet_ \- but she means a great deal to Adel. I’d never begrudge one of my girls a warm bed companion. Accomplish this little task, and we’ll see what else we can do with you.”

Blushing from how forthright she was being, and also the hands still dressing the wound on her rear end, Weiss thought about that. Maybe Salem wasn’t as cruel as she had been led to believe. Then again, she had just _branded_ her, so the truth was probably that she was both cruel and kind in equal measure.

“So then you believe me, High Dragon?”

“I didn’t say that. I’m willing to give you the benefit of a doubt, because you put yourself through this initiation. More hazing will likely come from the others. Trust is something you _build_, not a single decision.”

“Yes, High Dragon. Thank you.”

“You must really love my Baby Dragon.”

“What?”

“Yang,” she clarified as Cinder finally tugged her underwear back into place. She could feel some dampness near one of the leg holes and dearly hoped it was from the rag. “I have a feeling we wouldn’t be here right now if you weren’t so hopelessly devoted to her.”

Weiss cleared her throat. “Y-yes, High Dragon. I… I love her.” She was shocked at the honesty in her own voice.

“Then remember well: if you disappoint her, you’ll be disappointing me. I’m grooming her to take over the organization when I’m gone, you know. She is something like…” Salem considered for a moment. “Somewhere between a daughter and a protege. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course, High Dragon. I won’t let you down.”

“More promises. We shall see. Cinder?”

Cinder didn’t have to be told twice. As she steered the shell-shocked initiate back through the door, she grumbled, “I wish I was in Yang’s position.”

“What?” she gasped, blinking numbly. “You mean… you and I-”

“No, no,” she grunted impatiently. “Even though I guess I did finally get to rub you.” At Weiss’s shocked expression, she snapped, “Don’t be a baby. I don’t care about cleaning up your piss one way or the other; I’m joking. You need thicker skin, Princess.”

Stubbornly pushing through that topic, she said, “Then what did you mean?”

“Her position in line to be the next High Dragon. But I suppose I should be satisfied with having Salem’s trust.” Her eyes slid aside to look at Weiss. “The way you seem to now.”

“But she said she _doesn’t_ trust me.”

“Actually, she did, but she didn’t say she _mistrusts_ you entirely. Which is more than I could say for most stool pigeons who tried to get back into her good graces.”

“I swear, everything I said was true,” Weiss told her as they arrived at the table. Kali was already in the kitchens again, but Blake and Emerald were waiting to see what happened. “I know… I know how it seemed to you, and I understand now why you all looked like you wanted me dead in school. But all I can do is swear on a stack of Bibles that I didn’t do anything to hurt Yang, and never would!”

“Great for Yang,” Emerald scoffed. “What about the rest of us?”

“Give it a rest,” Blake sighed. “She’s been through a lot the past week. Daddy gave her a ‘love tap’.”

That silenced the green-haired girl immediately. She glanced at Cinder, who was also keeping quiet. A moment later, she stalked off toward the bar.

“Her parents weren’t any better. She gets it.”

Weiss remembered being told that Cinder had a pretty unfortunate life until this point. Maybe a history of abusive parents was a piece of that puzzle. Watching the woman order alcohol only seemed to confirm it; though she didn’t know her very well, she could guess that this topic being brought up again might drive someone to drink. After all… it did the same thing to her own mother.

“He really hit you?” Emerald asked, breaking her from her reverie.

“Yes,” she sighed, touching her cheek as the memory resurfaced. “Wasn’t the first time, but… I really thought it would never happen again. Shows what I know.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Blake cut in immediately, standing and taking up her hand. It seemed that most of her reservations about Weiss had gone away again now that she had proven herself. “You’re a teenager. We all are; we’re not supposed to be the ones controlling our emotions.”

Deflating with relief, she said, “Thank you. It’s so good to hear someone say that! Well, besides your mother.”

Emerald laughed a little, finishing off her current drink as Cinder drifted back toward the table. “Been here three times and you already have Kali fussing over you.”

“Ugh,” Blake grunted.

“It’s nice,” Weiss said earnestly. “She’s really nice. And I mean… I missed that. Having a mom.”

“Yeah,” Emerald chuckled, though it was more subdued. “I mean, my mom was alright. But I’m fine without her.”

Maybe it was an awkward question, but Weiss decided to take her chances. “Are a lot of Dragons orphans? Runaways?”

“What do you think?” Cinder snapped as she set her glass down heavily. “Good little children with loving families always join gangs, don’t they? Oh wait - that’s not how it works.”

“Lay off,” Blake said, though not harshly. “She’s one of us now.”

“That’s right.” Her eyes focused on Weiss’s and she smirked very slightly. For some reason, she knew - _knew_ in her gut that Cinder was about to mention her losing control of her bladder while being branded. But instead, all she said was, “One of us. The princess has become a dragon.”

“I still don’t know what that means,” Weiss admitted. “I have to do more, don’t I? To complete my… training, or whatever it is.”

“I just can’t believe you did it,” Emerald said, serious for once. “Thought you would run screaming before you became a thug like us.”

Cinder surprised them by speaking up. “Well, she did it. And she was less of a yellow-belly about it than you were.”

While Emerald was sputtering in mingled surprise and indignation, Blake giggled. Then she turned back to Weiss with a small, thoughtful smile. “I’m with Emerald, though. You really surprised me today, Schnee. Knew I liked you for a reason. Have a seat.”

She started to, then felt the pull of the tape holding the bandage in place. “Um… maybe I’d better stand.”

“Then sit here.” Without further ado, she pulled Weiss down to sit on her left thigh, so that the injured area hung off the side. She yelped in mild surprise and Emerald snickered, but Blake only looped an arm around her waist for support. “That’s better, isn’t it?”

“Depends on what you mean by ‘better’! For you, clearly!”

“I could start doing this…” Her leg jogged up and down, and Weiss hissed from the mingling pain and pleasure it brought her; she stopped soon after. “But no, I’m just trying to offer you an alternative seat. Don’t forget that it’ll be a few days before you can sit down regularly.”

“What am I going to do in school?” she whispered. “I have to sit all day!”

Leaning forward on her elbows, Emerald said, “Sit on Yang’s lap instead?”

“I’ll give you a special pillow,” Cinder promised her with a smirk. “With a little hole in it. We had it made just for this reason; most girls end up with it exactly where you did. Though you might look a little ridiculous carrying it from class to class…”

“Maybe, but it’s better than being in agony, or having teachers ask why I’m still standing,” she sighed, running her fingers through her bangs and still trying not to think about being this close to Blake. For her part, at least her hands weren’t wandering any further than Weiss’s stomach and the knee draped between both of her own. “Thank you, Cinder.”

“You two look cute together.”

They all turned to see Kali standing there, wearing two oven mitts and a playful expression. Immediately, Cinder piled on, “Don’t they, Miss Belladonna? Someone should take a Polaroid.”

“My little girl is growing up,” she said in a falsely sentimental voice, wiping away an imaginary tear.

“Ughhh,” Blake sighed again, though she didn’t force Weiss from her lap. “I’m just helping her heal her Dragon brand.”

That made the woman’s smile falter. “Oh? So… she went for _that_ test. Interesting.”

“Why?” Weiss asked.

“She must see potential in you as a Dragon. Otherwise, she would have done something else. Either painful… or…” She shrugged, folding her arms below her ample bosoms. This time, Weiss noticed Emerald waggle her eyebrows as she watched them bounce slightly. “Well, we’ve all heard the stories. Or lived through it. All things considered, this does have farther-reaching consequences, but it could have been worse.”

“Made Velvet dance for her,” Cinder remarked. “Wasn’t too bad, but Velvet wasn’t as… _comfortable_ showing off as she is now. A little burlesque show almost left her in tears.”

“Like you did,” Blake muttered.

“I did it because she _wanted_ me to,” Cinder insisted through her teeth. “You’re all so willing to think I’m a sadist.”

“You are! There’s no ‘think’ about it!”

“But I’m not an unfeeling monster!”

“Now, now, girls,” Kali said as she slid into the seat next to her daughter. One of her hands wound up on Weiss’s arm, offering silent comfort; she appreciated that. “No bickering or I’ll send you home without supper. And I have a fine pair of pizza pies in the oven right now.”

Instantly, they all cried, _“Pizza!”_ Kali tittered in approval.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to 2020! Time to keep this Freezerburn train a-rollin'!


	12. Chapter 12

**=Chapter 12**

Once they had eaten their way through the pizzas, Kali offered to take Weiss home. Though Weiss said she wanted to wait around in the hopes that Yang would show up, they both agreed that she should rest and heal. Cinder fetched the pillow and some type of cream she was to use on her burn every morning and night.

They also agreed to keep a better eye out for police. Being tailed was something most of them knew to look out for, but they had been getting careless since the cops of Vale took so little interest in their activities; the Huntsmen were a much bigger concern due to their influence in the business world. Now, they could no longer afford to be so lax. Weiss could tell that losing Shopkeeper’s would be a much more crushing blow than losing Junior’s.

Which wasn’t a loss, as it turned out. Before they finished their pizzas, one of the older women drifted over to their table and informed them that she’d heard Junior himself - a man named Hei Xiong, and Weiss could practically hear her father ranting about opium all over again - had weaselled his way out of any dire consequences. He said that he treated all patrons of his bar equally, and had no vested interest in what they did on their own time. Without any direct way to accuse him of participating in illegal activities himself, he got a gruff warning and turned loose. They might not be able to parley there again anytime soon, but the establishment would survive this single raid.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Kali was saying as they pulled into Atlas Heights. “Pyrrha seems like a good friend if she’s willing to be your alibi.”

“She is,” she sighed, glancing into the backseat. Somehow, she already missed seeing Blake there, even though it was only her second trip in the Belladonna car.

“Then show me to her house and I’ll let you out there. You may want to set up more official times, though; have Pyrrha and the girls work out a usual pick-up and drop-off location. Rotating through a couple of locations may be even smarter.”

“Got it. And… well…”

“Well?” But Weiss didn’t finish her thought. As they parked in front of Pyrrha’s house, she turned to her more fully. “Something’s on your mind.”

“I’m just… really surprised at how kind you’ve been. I mean, the other girls have been fun, if a little scary, but you’re so nice to me. Not just nice, but _super_ nice! And I feel like I don’t deserve that, since I’m so… ignorant. Yes, ignorant; I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Kali patted her shoulder and smiled. “None of us do, most days of the week, Weiss. I joined the gang because a friend did, and it felt like the right place for us. And now, my friend is gone, and I’m still here. Have to keep looking after my daughter. But… it’s not so bad. You’ll see.”

That knowledge that she had a friend who was gone - for one reason or another - made Weiss sad. This woman deserved more in her life. “What about your husband? Isn’t he concerned about your gang activities? I’m sorry, that’s probably- I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” she answered, smile turning sad. “He was at Normandy, you know. Really helped us stick it to the Fuhrer. But… well, a lot of good men died over there. Not just mine.”

Her heart sank into her shoes. “Oh no. Chee, I’m sorry.”

“Why? Did you kill him?” When Weiss blinked in and drew back in dismay, she grinned. “You’re such a cream puff, little Schnee. But I mean it; if you didn’t gun him down, then you have nothing to be sorry about. And considering you’re Blake’s age, I highly doubt you could have held a pistol when you were two years old.”

The mention of pistols made Weiss remember Raven and her brush with death. Shivering, she whispered, “I hope I never have to hold one.”

“You might. Being a Dragon now, you never know.”

“Really? But I thought… well, the other girls never have guns.” Then she shook her head, wrestling her way out of her safety belt. “Nevermind. I’ll just… take it as it comes.”

“That’s probably for the best.” Then she drew Weiss in for a warm hug, smoothing up and down her back. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You didn’t know what you were getting yourself into. But if it helps… I think you’re handling it well. Very well.”

Weiss clung for a little longer than she should have for a parting goodbye hug. It felt too wonderful, having something like a mother again. Then she whispered, “Thank you so much.”

“For what? I haven’t done anything.”

“For this. I’m sorry! I… I’m sorry!”

Though she was worried that explaining it wouldn’t work, that she would stumble over her words and foul everything up, the explanation wasn’t necessary. Kali whispered, “No, baby. No, no. I’ve got you. Shhh.”

It felt like an hour later when Weiss drew back, sniffling and swiping at her eyes, even though it was probably only a minute or two. Kali felt so _comforting._ She missed that more than she could say. The older woman also looked a little misty-eyed herself, though not nearly so much.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”

“I guess.” Then she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Can’t believe I’m crying on you when you keep making eyes at me.”

“No, _you_ keep making eyes at _me,_” she corrected gently with a slight smile. “Which I’m not going to hold against you, Weiss. At the risk of sounding conceited, I’m a real looker. Plus you’re just starting to realise women are attractive, so I have a feeling we’ll all be on your menu for a little while.”

Laughing nervously, she finished drying her face off and smiled up at Kali. “Maybe. I have my brain full of figuring out why I like Yang; I can’t even _think_ about why I keep looking at your chest, or Cinder’s legs…”

“A time I remember well,” she laughed. “I only married Ghira because it was expected of me, even though I loved him. But I was always looking at women, even during our honeymoon. Can’t help it. At least now I don’t have to keep my wandering eyes to myself.”

“Even if you keep teasing poor, unsuspecting little girls like me,” she accused gently, and Kali cackled madly. “Seriously! As if you’d ever go through with it! You’re so mean!”

“You don’t think I would? Schnee, I would make you see _stars_ if you weren’t so wrapped up in Yang.” When Weiss giggled, she put a hand on her hip. “That’s funny, is it? Not quite the reaction I expected.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just… your daughter said almost the exact same thing to me once before.”

“Really?” she murmured thoughtfully, holding her chin as she gazed out the windshield. “Hmm. Maybe she’s paying more attention to my technique than I thought. Oh well; it’s served me well enough in the past. May as well pass it on to the next generation.”

Shaking her head at how bold and unconcerned the woman was, she gathered up her things to get ready to leave. “Maybe you two should have a talk about that. So you don’t both try the same lines on the same unsuspecting teenagers. I mean, you can’t _both_ make me see stars at the same time.”

Kali’s smile turned wolfish in a way she hadn’t seen in the woman’s kind features before. “Can’t we? I would think the prospect of a Belladonna sandwich would make you ecstatic.”

“A what?”

“Never mind,” she laughed, leaning over to kiss Weiss’s forehead. And despite their previous topic of conversation, it was a motherly kiss, sweet and reassuring. “Sweet, innocent babe in the woods. Go home, rest and heal. I’ll see you soon. And… I hope you can talk to Yang before too long passes. She’s a lot more like her mother than she wants to admit; stubborn and hard to reason with when her mind is made up.”

That was an interesting notion. Kali knew Raven. Was it just from Yang being in the Dragons, or was there another reason? She’d never seen Raven at Shopkeeper’s, so it must have been from before she left the Dragons. The idea that Raven might have been the one to get Kali to join was too likely to ignore entirely.

“Go on,” Kali encouraged again. “Unless you want me to take you to the drive-in?”

“Golly, no,” she laughed nervously. “But… well, maybe…”

The way she drew out her “Hmmm?” was definitely laced with implications.

“I could come over for dinner sometime.” She blushed, and felt ridiculous. Especially because she wasn’t trying to flirt with the woman; she just honestly missed having a family.

And that was exactly how Kali took it, smiling warmly. “Of course. And I promise to have clothes on next time. Can’t have you so distracted you spill my prize-winning _cannoli_ everywhere.”

This wasn’t fair; Kali was still flirting-without-flirting, and Weiss felt like she was losing some kind of competition. Before she could chicken out, she opened the door to leave, then quickly blurted out, “I don’t mind one way or another. Bye!” before slamming the door. Even through the window, she could hear Kali laughing, so she glanced back and waved before skipping up Pyrrha’s front steps.

* * *

Her friend was definitely concerned the moment she saw the pillow and the tube of medical cream. The explanation only made her concern amplify.

“You _joined _them?!”

“Shhhh!” Weiss warned her as she hitched her underwear back into place. Pyrrha was still blushing from being mooned in the first place, but she was at least less weird about it that she had been initially. “Do you think I want anyone in this neighborhood to know about it?!”

Dipping her head, she whispered, “I'm sorry! But… well, I don't understand why you needed to go _that _far. Did they say you couldn't date Yang anymore unless you did?”

“Not exactly…”

And from there, she launched into a greater detailing of what happened at Junior's, why the Dragons were upset, and her ordeal in the back room with Salem. Pyrrha listened patiently, despite the many and varied looks of alarm on her face.

“I can’t believe you let her do that to you,” she finally breathed in sheer shock as they sat on her bed. Weiss was sitting on the special pillow, but it didn’t help much; shifting the area around was enough to cause fresh ripples of pain. “It's like getting a tattoo, a-and nice girls don't get tattoos!”

“Hey, I'm still nice! Well… sometimes I can be a little cranky…”

Pyrrha laughed a little. “That wasn't what I meant. But… oh, I guess you're right. No one is going to see you down there except Yang and your doctor.”

The idea of Yang seeing her down there was quite imposing, but Weiss tried not to think about that too much. Instead, she reached out to grasp Pyrrha’s hand. “Thanks for being my rock. I'm just sorry that I have to ask more of you than I already have.”

“Yes,” she sighed with a forlorn expression. “I don't mind the extra leg work at all, of course. I'm just worried about your parents finding out. I don't want them to be angry at either of us for running around behind their backs.”

Weiss's eyes went flat and hard. “I don't care. Kali Belladonna has been more of a mother to me than my own mother, and as for my father… he's just…”

“I know. After what I heard from downstairs, I don't blame you for losing respect for him. Just don't forget that you're still living in his home. Plus, he can send the police after your new friends.”

“So what? I'm just supposed to roll over and do whatever he says?”

“No, no! I didn't mean that at all! Only… be careful. Don't forget how much power he has. I don't want to see you getting hurt again.”

Letting out a gust of frustrated air, Weiss smiled at her old friend. “Sorry. All this really has me on edge, and I shouldn't assume the worst of you, of all people.”

“That would be nice,” she chuckled. “Now, we had probably better actually do your homework now or else everyone will wonder what the heck you’ve been doing at my house for several hours.”

* * *

It only took them about half an hour to polish off the homework, working as studiously as they did. Weiss was no stranger to having to cram in her studies around other activities. Then she went home for a lonely supper with just her father and younger brother, both of whom spent the entire time glancing at her as if she were about to explode and talking as if she weren't there. Alas, her mother was already too deep into her coping mechanism to join them.

“Father, I have a question,” she said in her most polite voice. Sitting at the table was already quite uncomfortable with the wound on her hindquarters, but she forced herself to endure, and ignore the pain as best she could.

“Yes?” His tone was already put-upon.

“There is a girl in my class whose parents are thinking about returning to Australia. No one seems to have jobs right now. The father simply hasn't been able to find work after the factory closed down and they laid him off.”

He nodded solemnly. “Ah. That was regrettable, but progress marches onward.”

“Right. Well, I just wanted to ask on their behalf if there are any openings at the company.”

“Afraid not, Weiss. We've had to tighten our belts of late.”

“Okay.” Trying to feign indifference instead of being angry with him, she added, “If something opens up, will you let me know? I'd hate for them to have to leave the greatest country in the world over something like this.”

It worked like a charm. Appealing to the man's sense of patriotism almost always did the trick. Smiling with fierce pride, he said, “Of course. I'll keep an ear out. What's the man's name?”

“Scarlatina.”

“Hmm, yes. Thank you.” He went back to sawing at the roast duck. “The cook has done a wonderful job today.”

“Hmm, yes,” Whitley said in a pale imitation of their father. Weiss had to fight down a look of disgust. Why did he have to be such a kiss-up?

After dinner, they were on their way up to their rooms. Weiss wished she wasn’t keeping pace with her brother, but there was really no easy way for her to lag behind or speed up. So she decided to use the opportunity to her advantage.

“Brother, dear,” she began in a falsely sweet tone. “I’d like to thank you for watching out for me.”

“Hmm? Oh, why yes, of course,” he said in his normal oily tones.

“Though you were mistaken about the quality of Yang’s character,” she added, stubborn to the last. “But of course, I understand how looking at the situation from the outside, you would assume I was falling in with ‘the wrong crowd’. And I appreciate your concern. I’ll have to keep my distance from those ruffians.”

His eyes were full of mirth that he didn’t give voice to. “Please do. I’d rather not have to protect my sister, given that she is older than I and should be able to take care of herself. But Father would never forgive me if I let you get swept along into a life of crime.”

“It was my hope that our friendship would have the opposite effect; that I would show another student who was less fortunate than myself a better way.”

Whitley’s laughter was biting and unpleasant, as usual. “Oh, you’re wasting your time. Thugs like those never change. And I would hate to think of my sister wasting such time when it could be better spent in improving herself. Keeping your grades up, training your voice, et cetera.”

Did he actually say “et cetera” out loud, as if that was normal? Rolling her eyes, she managed to keep from sniping at him and instead said, “All wise concerns. Anyway, I must retire to my room and finish my studies.”

“Goodnight, dear sister,” he said casually as he moved toward his own chambers.

Once safely away from her brother and behind closed doors, Weiss Schnee did something she had never done before: made a rude gesture toward the general direction of his room. How on earth could he have taken such liberties, heard what she had told him, and _still_ thought he knew what was best? The same way their father did. Sometimes the apple really _didn’t_ fall far from the tree.

* * *

For the second time in her life, Weiss was awoken by the sound of a pebble ricocheting off the glass of her window. When she slid the window up, she wasn’t all that surprised to see Yang down there, waving to get her attention. For a moment, her heart leapt in her chest, happy to see that at least the blonde brute was willing to speak to her again.

Then she remembered the reason she hadn’t been in the first place. “No!” she mouthed, waving her hands from side to side. “Go away!”

“What? Come on!” Yang mouthed back.

“I can’t!” She pointed to the other windows beside them.

“What?”

Weiss let out a grunt of frustration. Then she held up a finger to tell Yang to wait before she turned to her desk, an idea taking shape in her mind. Scribbling a hasty note, she read over it quickly:

‘_Can’t talk here. Not safe. Tomorrow, janitor’s closet by Mrs. Goodwitch’s class, second break. Burn this note!’_

Then she crumpled it up and threw it out the window as hard as she could. Though she was fairly athletic, she had never tried her hand at any sport like softball, so it fell far short, but Yang was able to jog forward quietly and pick it up. Weiss watched as she read through it quickly, then her face screwed up in concern.

She did seem to get the message, but Yang had another takeaway. She pointed up at the house, then to herself. Then she flexed one of her sizable biceps and patted it with her free hand, showing off her muscle. It only took one step toward the house for her to realise what was about to happen.

“What?” Weiss breathed, then waved her hands even more frantically. “NO! Don’t come up here!”

Yang nodded, looking sullen and worried. She reread the note, nodded to herself, and paced away into the night. Once she was close to the corner, she saw the little flicker of a cigarette lighter sparking to life, taking care of the only evidence.

As she slumped into her bed with a “whew!”, she worried things were only going to keep getting worse.

* * *

The janitor’s closet was cold and dark. For a minute, Weiss worried that she wouldn’t get any response. Yang didn’t owe her anything, not really; she only _hoped_ they could talk things out. Weiss wished she had been given more credit than she had before being shut out of her life, but she could also understand Yang’s position. After a lifetime of being let down by literally everyone dear to her, every girlfriend and family member, it would be hard for her to trust so fully. Especially not someone she had barely known for a couple of weeks.

Then the door clicked open and Yang whispered, “Weiss?” and all her neurotic worrying flew away.

“Hurry!” she hissed back. Yang edged into the room and shut the door behind her. “You made it! I didn’t know if you would come.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, settling in beside her. “What is all this stuff - what am I sitting on?”

“A mop bucket, I think.”

“Oh. Anyway… I, uh… so Cinder told me what you did. I think you’re crazy.”

Her stomach sank. “It’s what Mrs. Belladonna recommended. Neither of us thought I was going to be _initiated!”_

“Guess you wouldn’t expect that,” she laughed, though her voice remained largely subdued. “Um, and they told me the rest, too. I’m sorry, Weiss.”

“_You’re_ sorry? Why?”

Even in the near-darkness, she could see Yang was fidgeting. “For not… listening. For not waiting for you to talk to me. I mean, maybe you still should have thought about what your dad might do if you made him that mad, but I was stupid to think you’d ever try to hurt me on purpose. You’re not that kinda girl! But I was so upset, I felt so betrayed, and they kept saying that you’re a Schnee and I shoulda expected this, and you… ugh, I feel like a real butthead. Can you forgive me?”

Weiss wrapped both arms tightly around Yang’s back, pushing her face into her neck. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I am who I am, and my father is who he is, and my little monster of a brother is who he is!”

“Hey, hey,” she breathed into her hair. “Alright, that’s not your fault. This is still my fault for… for letting my temper get the best of me. I know now you wouldn’t do that; I guess I knew it before, but just… yeah. I don’t want to keep apologizing and you keep apologizing.”

“Right. We don’t have much time.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m going to have Pyrrha drop me off at your secret spot after school. We can have a couple of hours together, and then she’ll pick me up again, and then… we can plan when we can see each other again. It’s not ideal, but-”

“No, I understand. We gotta keep a lower profile now that your dad’s onto us. Is…” After a half-second, she whispered, “You really let Salem brand you? Just to convince them you were serious?”

“Yeah. I mean, I was really scared.”

Yang burst out, “No kidding! I can’t believe you walked right in there! She still scares the piss outta _me,_ and you never met her before! And now… you’re one of us.”

“Yeah,” she breathed again, even quieter. “I’m a Dragon.”

“Weiss the Dragon. It’s just… weird.”

“Isn’t it, though? I can’t believe it! Even with this scar on my posterior, it still seems like a dream!”

Leaning in close to her ear, the brute rumbled, “Maybe tonight, I can, uh… get a look at the damage, eh?”

“Stop,” she hissed, even though she was sure her smile was evident in her voice. “But… maybe.”

“What, really?” When Weiss didn’t answer, Yang drew back just a little. “Really? Man… what happened to you these past few days?”

As she stood and reached for the doorknob, Weiss said in a sing-song, “I became a Dragon, Yang. Try to keep up.” Then she slipped out and into the halls.

Once she got to class, Pyrrha leaned over to whisper, “So, how did it go?”

“We’re on for tonight,” she whispered with a wide smile. “As long as you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. Good luck!”

As they both bent to begin scribbling down the teacher’s notes, the smile remained. For the first time in almost a week, she felt like things were finally looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I meant to post a chapter last week! I hope you like the continued adventures with Kali and all the other shenanigans. TONS more to come!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mild sensuality.

**=Chapter 13**

This time, Yang was the first one to the depot. Weiss felt incredibly relieved when she saw her motorcycle stashed in the back; after having hung around the chilly abandoned husk of a building for an hour last time to no avail, it was nice to walk into the situation _knowing_ that her efforts would not be wasted.

“Hey,” Yang breathed, standing from the couch when she saw Weiss approaching. She had already taken her jacket off, and underneath was a yellow tank top that definitely would not have been allowed in school. She smoothed her palms on the thighs of her jeans, lips twitching into an awkward smile. Again, Weiss was struck by how odd it was to see such a confident woman turn into a bundle of nerves. “Um… good, you made it.”

“I did! I made it here before, too, while we weren’t talking; I know where it is.”

“You did?” Her smile slipped a little. “Wait… oh. You came by to see if I would show.”

“Yes. But it’s okay!” she told her hurriedly, skipping forward to her side and alighting a hand on her forearm. “Seriously, I just… didn’t know what else to do. Anyway, it’s in the past.”

The nervous Dragon relaxed somewhat. “God, I just feel really, _really_ dumb. I mean, getting yelled at by the fuzz was no fun, having all the girls snapping at me for bringing you along so much when none of us knew you very well… but I knew down deep that you weren’t the problem. Just looked like you were, and… and I didn’t know what to do.”

“Well, well, well. Maybe the great Yang Xiao Long isn’t _always_ in total control of the situation, hmm?” They both laughed, Yang distinctly embarrassed. “It’s alright. I feel stupid for not realising my stupid brother might be watching us like a Peeping Tom!”

“Yeah,” she sighed, shivering in a most un-Yang way. “Creepy. But that’s _both_ our fault for not thinking; we’ll just have to… do better. That’s all.”

Weiss sank down on the couch, wincing in slight pain from sitting on her brand. “Now I’m really up to my neck, though. I’m a Dragon. Me! How am I supposed to maintain this without my father figuring out and my whole life being ruined?”

“You could just drop out of school,” Yang said in an easy tone as she sat down next to her, sliding an arm around her shoulders. Weiss leaned in instinctively. “Live with one of us; Kali would take you in for sure, as much as she wants a piece of your cute little peach pie.”

“Oh, stop.” When Yang laughed, she elbowed her very gently. “And I can’t do that. Not yet, at least.”

“You can’t? I mean, I didn’t expect you to, anyway, but why not?”

“Salem wants me to keep an eye on my father. That was part of the reason she even inducted me into your, um, ‘social club’ in the first place, I think. Otherwise… well, I really don’t know why.”

Yang sat there nodding for a minute or so. Then she began, “Salem… sees things the rest of us don’t. I mean, she really creeps me out sometimes, but she’s also real smart, and understands how the world works. So if you walked in and seemed like you’d make a decent Dragon, she’d make you a Dragon. What she saw in you that told her you would be… I have no idea.”

“Me, either. I'm not very tough.”

“Well… you are, but not the way I am.” Her lips pulled into a slight smile. “You're actually really strong in your own way. Ever since we started hanging out together, I’ve been pretty impressed.”

Biting her lower lip and leaning a little more into Yang’s warmth, she purred, “Dragon-strong?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Guess we’re gonna find out, Schnee.”

“Mmm. Maybe we can find out right no-OW.”

Yang drew back to look at the pain in her features. “Burn still hurts, huh?”

“Yeah. I mean, they told me it would for a couple weeks, but it’s just… intolerable! How did you all go through with this?”

“Well, for one thing, mine’s not on my butt,” she snickered, though she was at least petting along Weiss’s back to offer some comfort alongside the teasing. “Gotta admit, I’m a little mad that Salem got to claim your ass before I did.”

“Where is yours? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Against all odds, that made Yang’s petting falter, and she was silent for a moment. Then she whispered, “Not sure you’re ready to see that.”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” she breathed, echoing Yang’s words from before. “Guess we’re gonna find out.”

Yang turned to look at her properly. Then, in one fluid motion, she yanked the tank top up and over her head, displaying her chest entirely. She wasn’t wearing a brassiere! Though Weiss did instinctively yelp and cover her eyes, it was only for a brief second before she began to lower her hands.

Normally, the sight of another woman’s breasts would have been enough to hold her attention. She was not used to seeing anyone underdressed, despite the brief demonstration from Velvet. This time was different. In the center of Yang’s chest, between the two sizeable mounds, lay the little dragon brand that matched the one she now owned. It was almost flawlessly in the center, and slick and white instead of pink or red as her own would be for some time.

“Ohhh… but isn’t that- I mean, if you ever wore one of those new-fangled swimsuits… everyone would see…”

“Don’t care. I wanted it right over my heart. The Dragons are a part of me forever. Even if I left, they’d still be close to my heart, y’know?”

She noticed Yang tense when she raised a hand toward her chest. But she only ran a fingertip over the scar, feeling how slick it was compared to the other untouched skin. This was a lot closer than they had ever been before, and her own heart was rocketing into her throat. The abandoned depot grew quite silent and still as they remained in that moment, Weiss stunned by both her dedication to the Dragons and to her willingness to let another person get so close to her so easily.

Then she smirked. “Liar.”

“Huh?”

“That’s not why you had it put here. You just wanted an excuse to flash any girls you got to come visit your secret lair.”

Blinking down at her for a long few seconds of shock, Yang finally snorted and grinned. “Yeah, you sure got me. But you fell for it the same as all the others.”

“Guess so. I’m a sucker for a tall, strong, dangerous biker.” Her hand smoothed up and down between the soft mounts, and Yang’s eyes closed. “But really… I’ve never known anyone like you.”

“Mmm… and I’ve never known anyone like you. Most girls from Atlas Heights… they’re comfortable there. They’d rather pretend not to see me than try and… figure out if I’m worth talking to.”

“Well, I’m not like most girls anywhere, _from_ anywhere.”

“Very true.” Her eyes slid open, and they were dark now, heavy-lidded and gazing straight down at Weiss as her hand came up to lift her chin. Locking their gaze. Connecting them. “You’re… the best one.”

“What?”

“The best girl there ever was. Anywhere, _from_ anywhere. It’s you.”

That stole her breath completely, and she felt her stomach disappear. Her lips parted to reply, but no words came; what could she say to that? Her eyes flicked down to the hand pressing into Yang’s heart, then back up to the eyes so sure of themselves, not blinking or wavering from her in the slightest.

“I’m in love with a brute,” she admitted, voice barely a whisper.

Yang took her lips right then, desperate, _needy_ where Yang was so usually so confident and reassuring. Weiss had to be the one to reassure her this time. Her other hand came up to rest on her neck, grazing up to tangle in her hair and then back down to her shoulder. This time, when a tongue poked at her bottom lip she opened willingly, and only let out a groan of need when it entered her mouth, found her own. It was glorious. It was too much, it was not enough - it was _Yang._

They shifted again and Weiss let out a grunt of pain. Yang parted from her mouth to whisper, “You alright?”

“Golly, no,” she answered honestly. “But… it’s my brand.”

“Right, here.” Yang leaned back, pulling Weiss on top of her.

“OH! Yang, what do you- th-this position is so unseemly!”

Laughing softly, she gazed up at Weiss with a huge smile. The waves of blonde hair pooling all around her, soft breasts above hard abdomen, alluring eyes… they were so _inviting_ in a way Weiss couldn’t resist. Or at least, she was having a very difficult time doing so.

“You gonna make me yours, Schnee?”

“N-not that easily! I’m not a trollop!”

“You keep saying that…” Her hands alighted on Weiss’s hips, clutching very slightly. “And you also said you didn’t want me to be your brute. Look how that changed.”

Weiss smirked a little, leaning down until their noses were touching. “I said I didn’t want you to _be_ a brute _to me._ And I didn’t. This is the only Yang I want; one who doesn’t try to push me around.”

“I didn’t push. I _nudged._” Weiss laughed out loud at that, and Yang giggled along with her as she took her lips again, only toying with them for a moment. “Mmm, yeah. But you were right; I’m not Cinder, and you’re not Velvet. Nobody owns nobody. What we got, babe? It’s… everything I’ve ever wanted.”

This time, it was the princess who lost control, recklessly crashing their lips together as they breathed each other in, slid hands up and down sides. Once, Yang’s brushed her scar but she barely flinched and Yang was moving the hand again, keeping that one on her back from then on. Their hips began to shift back and forth, tongues sliding over each other more than Weiss would have dreamed herself capable of handling. It was all new, and insane, and wonderful.

Finally, Yang broke the kiss to whisper, “You like those?”

“I think so,” she admitted, squeezing her breast again, flicking her thumb over the nipple. Yang sucked in a breath and let it out shakily. “And you like that I like them.”

“Sure. When you’re not… twisting it like I’m a ham radio.” When Weiss pinched a little tighter, she hissed in through her teeth again before grinning up at the princess. “Mmm, feels good. Want me to show you?”

“What?” When a fingerless-gloved hand began sliding up her blouse, over the buttons, she pushed it away with her free hand. “Stop that, you cad.”

“Me? Cad?”

“Yes, you.” But the hand did fall to her waist instead, and she pouted. “Aww, you gave up so easily.”

“I did what my princess asked, okay? That’s what _non-cads_ do.”

Grinning, she leaned down again to kiss her. “My favourite non-cad. And my favourite Dragon.”

“Funny, you’re my favourite Dragon, too.”

Being called that shot a weird thrill through Weiss that had nothing to do with their bodies being so close. The idea of being a gang member was still so fresh and raw that almost every time it was brought up, Weiss felt the fear all over again. An uncertainty about the future.

“It’s too new, huh?” When Weiss only blinked down at her, Yang nodded a little. “I get it. Seen that look in Ilia’s eyes. Emerald’s. Vernal’s. You’re allowed to be a little crazy from all this.”

“No, no,” she reassured Yang, kissing her lips gently again before laying down on top of her, head nestling next to hers. Instantly, both hands were on her back again. “Well… yes. But I don’t regret what I did.”

“You sure?”

“No.”

“That’s normal, too,” she said with a subdued chuckle. “But I’m gonna be here for you, okay?”

“Promise?”

“I promise, Schnee.” After a moment to think, she changed it. “I promise, _Weiss_.”

Her lips pushed into Yang’s neck. “Thank you, Yang. And… um…”

“What?”

“About what I said a few minutes ago. I’m sorry if it was too soon. Maybe we’re not ready for that yet. Everything’s going crazy, and it’s hard for me to keep track of all this, a-and here you are taking me back and kissing me when I only just barely convinced you that I didn’t rat on your whole-”

“I love you, too.”

“What? Really?”

Yang pushed her back just enough so they could look at each other. “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t say it back right away. Just… wanted to kiss you a lot more than I wanted to say it.”

Her shy smile was laced with a bright red blush. “Are we really in love? _Us?_ This is kooky!”

“A little kooky, but in all the best ways,” she laughed.

“Look at us! We’re two girls, from completely different sides of town, playing back seat bingo - and we don’t even have a back seat!”

“Will you cool off, spaz? Everything’s fine! I mean it.” Her hands smoothed up and down her sides again, and Weiss scoffed, settling in. “It feels good. _You_ feel good, and I like hanging out with you. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

Deflating on top of her, Weiss began to pet along her shoulder and upper arm. “I suppose… oh, you’re right. I promise, eventually I’ll stop flipping my lid over this. Someday.”

“And I’ll believe it when I see it, my squirmy little princess.” That earned her a hard poke to her side, and she yelped, “HEY!”

“RUDE! A rude brute! I can’t believe I like you!”

“You more than like me - you _loooooove_ me!”

“I do not!”

“Too late, you said you did!”

“I take it back!”

“No takesies-backsies, Schnee! I’m yours forever!” But immediately after, Weiss was slapping both hands over Yang’s mouth, trying to get her to be quiet. It wasn’t working.

* * *

The time came for Weiss to report downstairs and check if Pyrrha was waiting for her yet. Yang had pulled her tank top back on when she started to feel a little chilly, and they had been talking ever since. It was nice to just talk with her sometimes.

“And that’s how you got it? A table?”

“Yep,” she sighed, scratching at the thin ribbon of scar tissue below her eye. “Pretty boring story.”

“Not boring enough,” Yang growled, grinding one fist into the opposite palm. “You _bled,_ Schnee. I’d like to thump him on his stupid-”

“You’ll do no such thing. Don’t forget, Salem wants me to stay close, keep being Daddy’s Girl for a little while longer. You have to wait until after that mission is over before anyone thinks about any kind of ‘payback’, alright?”

Voice as helpless as could be while this angry, the Dragon snapped, “But he knocked you into a table! You had to get _stitches!_ That’s not how a dad’s supposed to act!”

“Really? This coming from the woman who had bruises a week or so ago from _her_ loving parent?”

“That’s different. I mean, everyone already knows Raven’s no prize mother.”

At that, Weiss deflated, curling a little tighter around Yang’s side. “I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

“Nah…” Sighing to let out her lingering tension, she hugged her back. “It was fair. I’m all hot under the collar about your dad hitting you, when I was telling you to ignore Mom laying into me.”

“Very true. It is a double-standard. Still, I’m sorry.” They relaxed for a moment longer. Weiss didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to give up this one moment of respite from everything and everyone. “Is… there any way…”

“Hm?”

“Could I try meeting her again? On her terms, instead of… of how it happened last time. Just to see if we could be friends.”

Yang sucked in a breath through her teeth, sitting up a little straighter and encouraging Weiss to do the same. Seemed she had noticed her checking her watch so frequently, after all. “Not so hot of an idea, Schnee. Raven doesn’t want anything to do with my friends, or the Dragons, or anyone at all.”

“She’s the mother of my girlfriend. Shouldn’t I meet her at some point?”

They both gazed at each other in the same moment, realising what Weiss had said. Forgetting her train of thought, she smiled sheepishly and dipped her head lower.

“Maybe. For now, let me just get used to having a princess all to myself.”

“Stop,” Weiss murmured, smiling a little wider. The kiss on her forehead enlarged that.

In short order, she escorted Weiss out front to look for Pyrrha. Eventually, they saw the Studebaker idling around the corner, so she turned back to kiss her cheek.

“Same time tomorrow?”

“Well… is there any way your gal pal could drop you off near Shopkeep’s? Around the corner. She doesn’t have to come in with you again unless she wants to.”

Weiss shrugged non-committally. “Sure. I mean, as far as I know. But we’ll try for around the same time, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Wonderful!” Another little kiss, and Yang hummed her gratitude before taking Weiss’s lips again. A thrill shot through her at the idea of anyone else seeing them, but she decided not to care in the moment. Then she reclaimed her voice enough to whisper, “See you then, brute.”

“Later, Princess.”

As she climbed into the passenger seat, Pyrrha was beaming widely at her, and Weiss felt distinctly bashful about the whole situation. However, even through that bashfulness shone her true gratitude and glee at having smoothed everything over. No dark shadow cast by her imposing father could truly outshine the Dragons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever blink and a month has gone by? Happens to me all the time. Sorry about the huge gap, I have been trying to get another fic ready to post and time just ran away from me. Hopefully I won't let that happen again anytime soon!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Cunnilingus. _Slight_ coercion.__

**=Chapter 14**

By the time Weiss arrived at Shopkeeper’s, she was a bundle of nerves. Pyrrha had helped her change the bandage during school, and they were both relieved that the slight spotting of blood had not been seeping through her bandages. Her body was healing as it should be, and even though she may have felt a few regrets over allowing her skin to be marked, it was worth it to be reunited with her love.

Too bad she was not in for the cheerful evening with the Dragons for which she had hoped.

The instant she walked in, she saw the girls in the corner were having a shouting match. Most of the other Dragons were hanging back and letting them get whatever it was out of their systems. Vernal had been lingering by the door, but when she saw Weiss hovering there, she smiled very cruelly.

“Look at you, Miss Woman Of The Hour,” she snorted. “Ready to welcome your public?”

“What? I don’t- what’s the matter?”

But Vernal only shrugged and waltzed back over to the bar. Wishing she had at least _some_ hint of what was to come, she squared her shoulders and approached the table.

“...not even been here for three days! And you just want-”

“-all of us, so you can’t act as if this comes as a sur-”

“-unreasonable! Completely and totally-”

“-the same as you, but a rule’s a rule, and if we don’t test one girl then it-”

The words faded into noise again. Around that time, Velvet spotted her from where she was hanging near the back and waved surreptitiously from behind Coco’s back. Weiss waved back-

And caught the attention of Cinder, who was poised to actually be able to see her. She fell silent for a moment before calling out, “There she is! The woman of the hour!”

“Why does everyone keep calling me that?” she murmured as she approached.

“Oh,” Yang said, face pale as she took a step back to allow her into the circle of heated debate. Ilia wasn’t there this time, but the others had gathered as per usual. “Weiss, you… you made it.”

“I did. And for whatever reason, you don't seem too pleased to see me.”

Around that time, she noticed Emerald, Cinder, and Coco were all staring at her like wolves happening upon an errant hart in the woods. It was the last one who spoke first. “Actually, we were just talking about you.”

“Don't,” Yang warned her.

“There is the matter of some unfinished busine-”

“Are you really starving for a knuckle sandwich? Because that's what I'm hearing from you right now!”

“Just let her decide for herself,” Emerald said, her hands resting on her hips. “She's one of us now, right? Or is this whole initiation a sham?”

Cinder paced around the others and slid a comforting arm around Weiss's shoulders. That was how she truly knew that she was in for something less hospitable than she had been hoping for.

“We've got wonderful news for you, Schnee. The next step in your initiation into the Dragons has been decided.”

Apparently, her instincts were dead on. “Oh, it has? Well, what is it?”

“Cinder…” Yang's eyes were flashing dangerously, her hands curled into fist at her sides.

“Nothing you weren't going to do eventually,” the brunette promised in a sing-song voice, one fingertip tracing a tiny circle upon Weiss's shoulder. “We all heard what an… attentive student you are.”

“Huh?” Weiss asked. “Student? I mean, um… yes, I suppose.”

“Think of this as a pop quiz. Were you truly paying attention during the demonstration, or not? That will tell us if you are cut out to be a Dragon or not.”

Even though she still had no idea what Cinder was talking about, Weiss was beginning to get the feeling that she should probably pay closer heed to Yang's warnings.

“You remember the demonstration,” Coco prompted with a lewd smirk. “Don't you?”

“The- _ohhhhh_, right. When you showed- wait.” She tried to take a step back, but Cinder's arm held her in place. “You said there was going to be a test. What _kind_ of test, precisely?”

Tired of them talking around the subject, Yang burst out in an annoyed tone, “They want you to go down on one of us. To prove you're as lady-loving as most of the Dragons.”

It was every bit as terrible as she had feared. _“WHAT?!”_

“I told you!” she flung at the others. “She doesn't wanna do it! Now lay off!”

“She never said that,” Cinder purred. “Just expressed understandable surprise. Allow her a moment to think it over, could you?”

But Weiss didn't need a moment. “No.”

“Awww, shy baby,” Emerald teased.

“Are you all insane? It doesn't mean I'm ‘shy’, it means I'm a normal human being. I'm a virgin! My first time with someone should be special, not a… not some huge spectacle!”

Cinder's previously-gentle hand gripped slightly harder. “You say that as if you have a choice. You're a _Dragon _now. And in order to prove that you are loyal to our organization, I think we have the right to ask something of you that pushes you outside your comfort zone.”

“Not this,” she responded flatly, arms now folding over her chest. “And not as some kind of public demonstration.”

“Oh, is that what's bothering you?” With a deceptively bemused titter, Cinder reached up with her other hand to caress Weiss's cheek. She was beginning to grow annoyed with her for invading her personal space so much. “It doesn't have to be in front of the rest of us. Just you and any Dragon.”

While most of the others were looking vaguely disappointed, Yang was breathing a sigh of relief. Looking between the two of them, the initiate asked, “Really?”

The hope in her voice seemed to be what prompted Cinder to tack on, “Anyone _except Yang_.”

“What?! Come on, that's not fair!”

“Of course it is. After all, we both know that Xiao Long would definitely lie on your behalf. She's so enamored of you that she can't possibly imagine being more loyal to her clan than to her new girlfriend - which disgusts me, quite frankly, but I suppose I can understand.”

Even while Weiss was continuing to feel outraged, she saw Emerald and Coco nodding. The latter said, “She's got a point. We all lose our minds for the ones we love.”

“But I barely can imagine doing anything with Yang in the first place, much less touch any of the rest of you in your- i-in such a way! No offense,” she added on to the end, worried they would think it had anything to do with how attractive they were.

“The point isn’t to make you comfortable, princess,” Emerald rumbled. “It's to prove your loyalty, that you really belong here. And that you were paying attention when Velvet put on a show for you.”

“Oh, do leave me out of it,” the timid girl whispered. She and Yang were the only two who looked truly repentant about this unreasonable request. Not even Blake seemed to care; her expression remained completely impassive.

In fact… that gave Weiss an idea. It was a little strange, and a few seconds slipped by in silence as her brain furiously worked through the details. Maybe she couldn’t get out of doing something she was nowhere near prepared to do, but if she could pull this off…

“Well?” Cinder finally prompted when her patience ran out. “We could probably devise another initiation ritual. However, I can guarantee that this one won't be quite so _pleasant_.”

Gulping as she thought about the scar tissue still forming on her left hindcheek, she blurted out, “Okay! But what about a compromise?”

The woman smoldering eyes definitely did not look impressed. “Go on?”

“What if… I go down on Yang… and-”

“We already told you, that isn't going to-”

“AND,” she cut her off more firmly to give herself a chance to finish, “only _one_ of you gets to watch? Will that satisfy your crude requirements?”

“Weiss…” Yang sounded completely beside herself, gaping at Weiss. The look was so close to one of betrayal that she had to turn away from it, focusing on Cinder, who seemed to be the one pushing the most for this bizarre form of torture.

“Hmm. Well, I suppose. But it has to be one of _us;_ this generation of Dragons. Because a little birdie told me that you would prefer Mrs. Belladonna’s company.”

Feeling her face grow hot at the accusation, she cast a nervous glance at Blake. For her part, she didn’t seem to care much, but neither did she look especially comfortable to be discussing one of her friends getting “frisky” with her own mother. Understandably so.

“I wasn’t going to ask her anyway. Why, do you want the pleasure?” she fired at Cinder.

“Moi? Oh, no, no, _no._ Tempting, but I had someone else in mind.” Her eyes shifted in the direction Weiss’s had just been pointed. “Blake.”

“What?” After a moment, she blinked and asked, “You want _me_ to be the witness?”

“Do you abstain?”

The olive-skinned girl glanced first at Weiss, who was fairly indifferent; secretly, she would be _grateful_ if it was Blake instead of Cinder or Emerald, who would be the worst to put up with in there. Coco might be a little irritating, offering too many pointers, but probably not quite so bad. If indeed she had to go through with this insane, clandestine ritual, Velvet and Blake - and Ilia if she had been present - were her top choices.

However… there was something about the way she was staring at Yang now. And Yang was staring back, looking a little uncomfortable; that was definitely to be expected. But something else was in Blake’s eyes. If she had to name the emotion, the feeling Blake was dealing with, she would call it “regret”. Regret about what?

“Good. It’s settled.” Clapping her hands together, Cinder sauntered toward the back. “I have it on good authority that Salem will not be joining us until later this evening. And in her absence, the back room is open for such activities. Given that Schnee can’t come and go as she pleases anymore…”

As she spoke, it began to dawn on Weiss that not only was she going to be expected to follow through with this ridiculous plan, but she would be expected to do it _now._ “What? You mean, here? In _Shopkeeper’s?!”_

Emerald snorted. “Did you think we would rent you a room?”

“But that’s…” She glanced again at Yang, who was only shrugging helplessly. “That’s obscene! And I’m not ready! Nobody said I had to do it _right now!”_

“What do you want me to do?” Yang hissed at her. “You agreed to it. Kinda can’t do much about it now.”

“But I thought…” Her pout was probably childish, but she couldn’t help it.

“Listen, it’s fine,” Blake finally said in as calm a tone as she could manage. “I promise to be as professional as… as a person can be under these circumstances. Does that help? I mean…”

Weiss shook her head quickly. “No, no, you’re completely fine! Thanks for… for volunteering to… I don’t know, whatever this is.”

“Then it’s all settled,” Cinder said with a wide smile, wrapping her arms around both Weiss and Yang’s backs and escorting them toward the normally-forbidden door. “Hope it all works out for you!”

Before she knew it, Weiss found herself in the smoky back room again. It was largely unchanged from the previous visit. Merely being in that space made her cheeks clench, even though she knew there would be no such painful encounters this time. Once inside, Blake slipped around the three of them, standing off to one side and trying to look politely interested in the ceiling.

“Be good,” Cinder cooed with a sinister little smile. “And don’t forget - you have to give Yang a blaze of glory, or it doesn’t count…”

Once she backed out of the room, chuckling under her breath, Weiss sighed and turned back to a frowning Dragon. “Wow, I am… _so_ sorry.”

“This is just great. I mean, I really want you to be my steady gal, but I know you’re a classy lady. Wanted our first time to be special. So I’m over the moon about letting you _eat me out in the back room of our hideout!_ Yeah, that’s just neat!”

However, the instant she saw Weiss deflating and looking down at her own Mary Janes, she sighed and ran a hand over her face. The meek “I’m really sorry” shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise at that point, but Weiss offered it anyway.

“Oh… forget it. You’ve been a Dragon for less than a week. Not fair for me to expect you to be ready for this kind of stuff.”

“W-we don’t have to do this. I’ll go out there and…” She swallowed hard. “I’ll pick Blake, or Velvet. This doesn’t have to be our first time.”

“It’s okay,” she told her a little more earnestly, reaching up to cup her cheek. “I’m not mad. Well… I’m kinda mad at Cinder, a little. But not mad at you.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Then she turned to look over at Blake. “Ready, ref?”

The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about me. Not like this is _my_ problem.”

“I know. But you, uh… well, out of everybody-”

“Sit on it, Xiao Long. It’s done.” Turning to Weiss, she sighed and said, “Well, if you need pointers, just ask. I mean, I know you already saw the whole show with Velvet, but honestly, it’s a little different doing it yourself. I don’t mind helping.”

The very idea made a chill run down Weiss’s spine. However, she could tell Blake was as nervous about this as she and Yang were, which helped her feel less disgusting. “Thanks, I think.”

Scratching the back of her neck, Yang took a look around the room. “Where do you want me? I, uh… maybe not in Salem’s usual booth. That’s just too grody for me.”

“Well… this one looks fine.” She gestured to the one Blake was leaning against, and immediately she sat forward from the table, looking as if she had seen a ghost. “Now, are you going to be up on the table, or lying on the bench?”

“On the table. So you don’t have to kneel on the floor,” she added quickly.

“Hmm. Maybe you should lie on the bench so I don’t have to be sitting, since um, I can’t do that right now.” As Yang nodded, she gestured to the seat. “Well, go on.”

“Uh… I kinda have to…”

At first, Weiss wasn’t sure why Yang was so reticent. But when she stooped to begin pulling off her huge brown boots, it came to her in a flash of understanding: she had jeans on. Once Yang was rid of those, and began unzipping, Blake turned away to stare in the opposite direction.

“Let me help you,” Weiss breathed, reaching forward to grasp the waistband. Yang dropped her hands away and gave her free reign, breath coming in shallow rasps as she watched the delicate pale fingers work at freeing her body. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

A thrill shot through Weiss as she pulled them all the way to the floor, along with the underwear beneath. Her eyes were shut as she did; she didn’t want to see too much. Didn’t want Yang to feel exposed. A hand rested against the crown of her head, and she felt Yang stepping out of them.

“Done. Um… you can look, if you want.”

Swallowing hard, she whispered, “I don’t think I can. It’s too… I don’t know.”

“You’re going to be face-deep in there in a minute,” she snorted, voice low and gentle. “Might as well start getting used to it now.”

The sight that greeted Weiss once she prised her eyes open was of Yang towering over her, a dirty-blonde thatch of hair on display just below the hem of her shirt, framed slightly by the open sides of her leather jacket. There was a curious mixture of anxiety, bemusement, and excitement in the brute’s alluring features. When she only continued to crouch, gazing upward, Yang finally cleared her throat.

“R-right.” Her hand petted the outside of Yang’s thigh. “Do you want to keep going? Or just… just the pants?”

“Do you want me to keep going?”

“Sort of,” she confessed. “But if you’d rather we just get down to-”

Her voice petered out when Yang shucked her leather jacket, letting it fall to the floor alongside her jeans. One more garment later and she was entirely nude.

“Golly gee whiz,” Blake grumbled from nearby, still not looking.

“You’re so…” Weiss drifted her hand up Yang’s abdomen, feeling the muscles pulse underneath the skin. “Wow…”

“A-alright,” Yang laughed self-consciously. “Um… I’ll get into position.” She walked backward, and Weiss found herself watching the long, tapering legs move more than anything until she was sitting down on the end of the bench, then reclining. “Ready when you are.”

“I’m not. But…” Gulping, the overwrought princess decided to crawl forward rather than standing, and Yang’s smile fell as she watched her. “I want to please you. I really do, even if it’s for such a ridiculous reason as getting the other Dragons to accept me. It’s… it’s what I want.”

“Weiss…”

Her hands perched on Yang’s knees as she pushed up from the floor, face hovering between them. “Besides… I thought this was what you wanted. For me to bow before your awesome might.”

“Hell yes,” she admitted with in a soft voice. Somehow, that softness made it feel less like it was truly what Yang wanted. “Or for you to make me do that for you. God, you’re so gorgeous…”

Heart beating faster, she started to surge forward… but couldn’t help glancing over at Blake. She was still standing with her hips leaning back against the partition between the two benches that connected their booth to the next. Sensing that everything had come to a standstill, her amber eyes flicked over in their general direction before swivelling forward again. “What?”

“Um… I don’t have any right to ask anything of you, Blake. But… where do you… I mean, h-how much do you have to see-”

“Let’s say I sit here,” she offered, taking the other bench. “Now the table is in the way, and all I’ll be able to see is your head bobbing up and down. Does that work for everybody?”

“You could lie for us,” Yang sighed irritably. “Just go out there and _say_ we went through with the whole thing.”

“I won’t. If I would do that for anybody, it would be for you - and you _know_ that. But I don’t think it’s fair for me to help you two cheat.” There was a hint of true remorse in her voice when she added, “Sorry.”

Shaking her head, Weiss said, “It’s okay. I’m… glad it’s you in here with us.” Then she turned back to Yang, trying not to think too much about what was about to happen, or about the incredible view from her standpoint. “Are… you ready for me? I’ll probably be terrible at this.”

“Nah. Just do your best. And…” Yang’s voice got even more shy. “I’ll love it. I’ve wanted this for a while.”

There was nothing more to say.

When Weiss’s hands began to ease Yang’s thighs apart, she found herself suddenly eager to see the body of her love. Velvet’s had been interesting, but she was more _interested_ in this one - in whatever subtle differences it might offer. In touching. Maybe Ilia had been right at home with teasing any old person, but she wanted only to touch this force of nature that had set its sights on her from the beginning.

Yang had been right about her clit being larger. Not abnormally so, but the very tip of it was visible without her needing to disturb its hood at all. The rest was fairly similar, though she hadn’t seen nearly enough examples to know if that was normal or not. A few slight hairs framed the sides, though most of it was on top, as she had glimpsed while kneeling before her. Whenever Yang breathed, the soft petals flexed, and they glistened very slightly in the low light.

To both of their surprise, Weiss leaned in to leave a kiss just below the nub, where the lips began. Yang sucked in a breath of surprise that turned into a quiet moan.

“Is this okay?” she asked before leaving another.

“Yeah,” Yang breathed. After a third kiss, Yang lifted her leg so that it draped over Weiss’s back; she could feel the heel resting there. One of her hands was splayed against the back of the bench, and the other gripping the edge of the table. Trying to stabilise herself. Already, she had been surprised that the flavour itself wasn’t as awful as she had been expected - it was equally surprising that Yang _liked_ it. For that purpose, she could easily weather the oddly sweetly-sour tang.

Once Weiss set to work in earnest, all bets were off. Her lips parted and drew in another, softer set, testing how they felt in her mouth. They felt fine, but it was the _sound_ that thrilled her to the bone. Moan after moan told her that Yang really loved this. Adding her tongue into the mix only made hips come up to meet her face, so Weiss kept that up as best she could, her hands holding the taller woman open for her. Each pass of her mouth brought new sounds, new _smells_ that she expected to despise - and instead cherished. This was Yang. This was _her_ Yang, and open to her in a way no one had ever been before.

Everything else stopped mattering. Though she was distantly aware that Blake was nearby, that they were in a strange place with a gaggle of girls waiting outside to hear all about this encounter, none of them were _connected._ There would be certain things about this moment none of them could ever take from them.

“You’re _delicious_,” Weiss panted a minute or two later. Maybe she wasn’t in a literal sense, but the flavour was somehow satisfying on her tongue - and the results were _very_ satisfying for both of them.

“Ah!” Her hands trembled where they lay, and the one splayed on the bench curled into fist. “Holy hell! You’re so… you were _really_ paying attention!”

The praise made her smile. Leaning her chin against Yang’s inner thigh, she whispered, “Do you like having a girl dote on you?”

“Yeah… but… when it’s you, it’s… _way_ better…”

Deciding they had waited long enough, Weiss fell to work again. This time, she decided to test the “magic button” Coco had spent so much time talking about. Her lips pressed gently into the end as her fingers drifted up to roll back the small fold of skin shrouding it from the open air.

“OH!”

That confirmed one thing. Weiss grinned to herself as she let her tongue flick out and prod the firm little button. It was actually firmer now than when she started; at first, she had been worried about that, but it only seemed to add to the experience for the both of them. After a few more proddings, she discovered that her tongue could poke up under the hood and found even more of it lay beneath. Her fingers carefully drew the skin back…

Even though she had been consuming Yang the whole time, having her first sexual encounter under the most insane of circumstances, for whatever reason, the moment she saw her laid even more open to her, watched her love’s clitoris actually _throb_ in anticipation of being touched, was the first moment she knew that her own was feeling the same thing. All those tingles she felt before had been a precursor to this instance of actually knowing, without any doubt, that she was aroused.

Again, she fell to work, and this time Yang had a lot more difficulty suppressing her cries of pleasure. Fingertips grazed up and down soft folds as lips and tongue teased the crux of pleasure above. More tastes and scents seemed to fill her, and she moaned herself into the inviting flesh. Any worry that she would not be able to handle loving a woman vanished.

Yang transcended the concept of gender. And tasting a woman was better than she ever could have imagined.

“Shit,” Yang finally breathed as she began to convulse a little more. How much time had passed? Minutes, hours? “I’m… I-I’m gonna- Weiss!”

Now that it was so close, she found she didn’t want it to be over so quickly. But that was the goal. If she slowed down now, they would have to perform for the Dragons’ amusement even longer - and she wanted to do more, of couse. But on _her_ terms. She wanted to have Yang all to herself, alone and in their own little world built for two. So for the time being…

“Yes,” she panted hungrily as her fingers slid up and down the wetness. “Orgasm for me, Yang. Let me hear how much you want this!”

The next moan was even louder, and she couldn’t help glancing at Blake. The Italian Dragon was ignoring them. Well, that wasn’t true, of course; her cheeks were pink, and she was sitting perfectly still. As if afraid any movement would somehow ruin the moment.

So Weiss put her out of her mind. Her mouth fell to the clit again and she resumed, fellating the little bump for all her worth as her fingers slipped and slid around on her opening. Should she use her fingers the way Coco instructed? Perhaps that would do-

That thought never got finished. No further action was needed to make Yang come, because it was already happening - at least, the long, drawn-out keening of joy seemed to indicate that. Especially when combined with the way she nearly sat all the way up from her body convulsing, rocked with the sheerest, purest pleasure - and that was without the sudden _gush_ of fluids. Weiss could tell immediately this wasn’t what came out of her when she was branded; this was orgasm-related. So she tried to suppress a cry of shock and simply kept up her efforts.

Not long afterward, Yang flopped back, completely spent. Weiss remembered a comment Coco had made about Ilia stopping immediately and did the opposite; she gradually tapered her licking and suckling off until she was only kissing her clit again, tender and affectionate instead of frenzied. And even then, she still loved doing it for her.

After a moment, Yang tilted her head up to smile weakly at Weiss. Her eyes caught sight of something else, and she hissed in alarm, “BLAKE!”

Weiss glanced up to see Blake was leaning far forward on the table, gazing down at the nude body. Hearing her name, she glanced between the two pairs of eyes, and lowered her own, looking appropriately ashamed to have been caught peeping. However, she had something else to say.

“I… had to make sure,” she whispered. “I know, I know, but… I mean, some girls can fake it. But it looks like you really came.”

“Did you _have_ to?” Yang needled.

“Yes.” Her gaze turned a bit harder as she stared at her leader. “I’m supposed to be a witness. So I witnessed. Trust me when I say that this is the _last_ thing I wanted to be doing tonight, but I take being a Dragon seriously. Sorry to be such a germ.”

Blake stood up to leave, but Weiss caught her forearm just before she fled. “Thank you,” she told her earnestly. “I mean… it’s weird, but you… you did help us today. I understand that, even if Yang doesn’t.”

But the words didn’t seem to help. Instead, they shared a long, tense moment in which Blake tried to come up with something to say, staring off into the corner of the room. In the end, she just shrugged and walked out.

“Don’t worry about her,” Yang grunted as she sat up. “It’s… a long story.”

“You weren’t very nice to her,” Weiss told her baldly. “Sure, it’s creepy that she was watching, but that was supposed to be her job.”

The blonde rubbed at her face for a moment. “You’re right. Man, you’re right; I’ll… yeah, I’ll apologise later.”

“Good. But I don’t want to talk about Blake right now.” They both shared a small smile. “Did I really make you finish? I mean, I could tell you didn’t _hate_ it, but any-”

“You razzed my berries, Schnee. Seriously. I…” Her cheeks were still flushed, but Weiss was almost certain it wasn’t completely from their strenuous efforts of minutes ago. “It’s _never_ been that good, and I’ve had some talented ladies go to town on me before. You were _great!_ Especially for a new recruit. I’m pretty impressed, I… I just don’t know what else to say, but I want to keep saying it!”

Grinning and knowing that her own face was glowing nearly as much, she slid into the booth next to Yang for a moment. They should make their exit soon, but for the moment, she wanted to be next to her girlfriend. To slide an arm around her back, nestle into her side.

“And I want to keep hearing it. But instead… I want to hear something else.”

“What? Oh, right - uhhh…” Yang cleared her throat nervously. “Is it ‘I love you’?”

Kissing her neck, she whispered, “Pinned the tail right on the donkey, Brute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the big gap. The world is CRAZY right now. And my head barely works on an average day, so this is just... worse lol. But I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

**=Chapter 15**

A few minutes later, the fully-clothed couple emerged from the back room to thunderous applause. Weiss had been sad to have to put clothes back onto such a firm, alluring body, but there were certain standards of decency that must be observed.

Emerald, Coco, and Velvet were the most ecstatic, pumping their hands and pounding them on the back, laughing and making crude jokes that Weiss pretended to find offensive. They _were_ offensive, but she was too thrilled with the day’s developments to truly care. She and Yang weren’t just dancing awkwardly around each other - they had been _intimate._ This changed everything!

Cinder, for her part, had prepared something a bit more formal.

“Congratulations,” she said as she nodded to Velvet, who turned back to the corner. “You have passed your test with flying colours.”

“You didn’t really have to go back there, though,” Emerald confessed with a small smirk. “It was more about how you reacted to the test than actually going through with it. If you just yelled at us that we were crazy and you weren’t going to ‘perform’ just for us and we should all sit on it, we would have respected that, too.”

“Like I said,” Yang sighed with her arms behind her head, lazy grin never wavering, “it was too late once you accepted. I was _trying_ to help give you a way out.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re complaining,” Weiss grunted. _Unbelievably_ cheesed off at Cinder for her machinations but grudgingly alright with the result. 

“Of course not. I mean, hey, I got your sweet lips going down on mine. What’s to complain about?”

As the others laughed and Weiss tried not to feel any more self-conscious than she already did, Cinder cleared her throat. “Anyway. First you showed us you’re made of tougher stuff than the average paper shaker by taking the brand from Salem, and now that you’re not afraid to show a woman a good time. Two tests which mean you are a Dragon. Therefore…”

Coco began a drumroll on the table as Velvet came back from where she had been rummaging around in a bag. In her hands was a pristine, brand new, black leather jacket with yellow stripes up the sleeves. One of a fairly petite size. Even while Weiss was admiring the look of the garment, Velvet pushed it into her hands, eyes alight with excitement that the entire table seemed to be sharing.

“Wait… is this _mine?”_ When she nodded, Weiss grinned and turned it this way and that, looking at the brilliantly-coloured dragon on the back. “Jeepers!”

With a little snort, Yang murmured, “Like Dragons say ‘jeepers’. We’ll have to teach you the lingo, how to bash ears with the best of us.”

“Wait, wait,” Coco said with a slight smile. “Hand that to Yang.” Weiss did, though she wasn’t sure what they were doing. “Now Yang, put it on her.” They both obeyed. It was nice having someone slide the cool leather over her arms for her, and she pulled it tight in the front, smiling at the scent of new leather and the warmth the insulation provided. “Good. Schnee, you’ve just been jacketed.”

“Yes, obviously.” After a moment, the other meaning caught up to her, and she turned to look up at Yang. “Oh… _jacketed.”_

Yang looked puzzled for an instant, as well, but then she rolled her eyes and looked back at Coco. “You mean like varsity boys ‘claim’ their girls by giving them their letterman jackets? I didn’t mean it like that. Besides, since we’re both girls, shouldn’t that mean we have to _trade_ leather?”

“Mine probably wouldn’t fit you,” Weiss tittered. “You’re so strong and broad-shouldered.”

“And you love it,” she rumbled with a lopsided grin. Weiss felt very self-conscious about leaning up to kiss her cheek, but not enough to stop herself doing so.

“Goodness gracious, _great_ balls of fire!” Emerald half-sang, and the others laughed.

Talk devolved from there. Now that she was truly a Dragon, the others were a lot less wary around the Schnee heiress. Ironically, they were a lot less lewd now; half their reason for bawdy banter seemed to have been seeing whether or not it would drive their white-bread intruder away. Now, the topics mostly hovered around girls they found cute in class, more emotional wavelengths of relationships, popular music on Billboard’s Top 100. The typical things Weiss expected girls her age to care about - other than the target gender for their romantic interests. It was both freeing and bizarre to hear so much open conversation about lesbianism, which she had scarcely thought about more than once in her entire life before Yang came along.

And then there was Yang. Being in Shopkeeper’s with a warm hand grasping her own was the most contented she had ever felt in her life. And though their brief kisses made the others giggle, and once in awhile they would make an exaggerated gagging noise, it was worth it. Yang was worth everything.

Eventually, however, she noticed someone was missing. “Hey… where did Blake go?”

“Dunno,” said Emerald while Coco was still laughing from some silly pun Yang had cracked. “Said she didn’t feel well. Did she cut out?”

“Beats me,” Cinder sighed with a swig of her beer.

Weiss fell silent for a few seconds. She could tell Yang was paying more attention to her, even though the conversation continued. After a minute, when she stood up, Yang asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Just going to check. I’ll be back, I promise.”

A quick survey of the ‘employee parking’ that now served as Dragons motorcycle storage told Weiss that all the same bikes were there as had been when she arrived; after missing her at the depot while they weren’t speaking, she had begun making it standard practice to check for Yang’s hog. That was both good and bad; if Blake was still there, where did she go? Shaking her head, she went back in through the kitchen entrance.

“Mrs. Belladonna?”

“Kali, please,” the woman insisted with an easy laugh. “You don’t have to be so formal - especially considering we now have equal standing. Looks good on you, sweetie.”

The unexpected praise made Weiss smile and nervously finger the collar of her jacket. “Th-thanks. Um… have you seen Blake? I lost track of her and she’s been gone for a while.”

“Hmm. No I haven’t, I’m sorry. But my daughter can take care of herself, so you shouldn't worry.”

“Oh. Alright, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a slight curtsy, still poking fun at how formally Weiss was behaving around her. The princess rolled her eyes before nipping back into the main area.

Where could she have gone? Weiss checked all the other tables, the few ladies sat at the bar, and she saw no sign of the long, luxurious raven locks. On a whim, she went back into the back room before Salem could return, just in case. Still no Blake. She finally gave up and took a break to powder her nose.

That was where she found the missing Belladonna. She was poised over the sink, hands gripping the porcelain as she stared deep into the mirror. A single glance was enough to tell Weiss that her eyes were bloodshot - and a lucky thing, too, because Blake looked away the instant their gaze connected through the reflection. Otherwise she would have missed that little clue.

“What?” she demanded.

“You've been gone for a while, that's all. I was worried.”

“So? That isn't my concern. I have no control over whether you do or don't feel worried.” After a brief silence, Blake sighed. “Sorry. I'm… forget it. I'll be fine.”

Taking a tentative step forward, Weiss laid a hand on Blake's arm. “Will you?”

“Yes. If you leave me alone, yes.”

“Me?” She had to work hard to keep from overreacting emotionally to such a small phrase. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

“Can… you talk to me about it?”

“Really rather not. And it's not a big deal, anyway. Just ancient history.”

By this point, it didn't seem like a particularly far-fetched guess. “Is it Yang?” No answer. “Is it more about something she _did_, or… something she _didn't_ do?”

“Look, Schnee,” she began with a long sigh, finally turning to regard Weiss directly as she ran her fingertips through her bangs. “I'm pleased as punch that you passed your test, and you're one of us now. And I do mean that. I was as suspicious of you as the rest of us, but getting to know you these past weeks… you're actually pretty cool. But that doesn't make us _best friends_ who have to share every bit of gossip. This is something I don’t want to talk about right now, at all. So please, don't think that just because I don't want to talk to you about this that it means we're not friends anymore, okay?”

“Just not _best_ friends,” she repeated, earning her a little nod. “Okay. So if I were to, say, guess the reason you're in here, crying by yourself, would that mean we are closer friends now?”

Blake let out a harsh little laugh. “Sure. You think you're so smart. We both get about the same grades, do you know that?”

“Yes, I had noticed. Very uncommon for a Dragon. I suppose that makes us _both_ uncommon, doesn't it?” Blake didn't bother to answer. Weiss turned and hopped up on the other sink, legs dangling and kicking back and forth slowly. “That's probably what makes it so frustrating.”

“What?”

“Yang… never noticing how you feel.” When Blake moved to bolt from the bathroom, Weiss flashed her leg up to stop her. “Wait!”

“Get out of my way, Schnee.” When the leg didn't lower again, Blake turned her amber eyes on her with mounting fury. “I'll break this thing to get out of here, I swear it.”

“I'm sorry. I should have noticed, I… you were always there, always supporting Yang. Supporting both of us. Why? Why would you want us to succeed if it meant… if you wanted her all to yourself?”

Blake merely stood there, taking quick, shallow breaths for a few seconds. Suppressing any more obvious outward display of her emotions. “You really _are_ smarter. Too smart for your own good.”

“Don't be silly. If I were smart, I would have figured this out way before seeing your face after watching us-” She thought better of what she was about to say. “After watching the initiation. That must have been very hard for-”

“Princess, I'm warning you…”

Heaving a loud sigh, Weiss finally did lower her leg. “Fine. I was just trying to help.”

“You want to help? Go away. Or… or go try to pick up Cinder, or Emerald. Hell, take Ilia - she's been buzzing around me for weeks, and I can't stand it anymore. Or just…” Her hands reached up and fisted in her hair as she let out a noise of pure frustration. “No. Forget I said anything. I _want_ you to be happy.”

“Blake…”

“I do, and I mean that. This is just… me being stupid.”

“You're not stupid!” she burst out, hopping down from the counter and approaching. The way Blake flinched kept her from touching her arm again. “You're incredible! A-and I'm sure Yang would tell you that it has nothing to do with you not being good enough, or stupid or- or anything like that!”

After a second or two of silence, Blake eased the door open just enough to look out over the restaurant. They both stood there for a long moment and simply watched their friends laughing and talking. By now, Ilia had joined them, and even though she seemed mostly quiet she also looked thrilled to death to be part of their inner circle.

“Always thought we were a natural fit,” she finally whispered, seemingly more to herself than to Weiss. Eyes only for the blonde guffawing and slapping her knee. “Both of us 'legacies’. Her mom and my mom go way back in this organization. Not that Raven wants anything to do with us anymore, but that never stopped Yang and I from being friends. And she's so strong, and funny, and… and I have no idea why I thought I deserved her. Probably more wishful thinking than realistic.”

By now, she had let the door fall shut again. To her credit, her eyes watered but her cheeks remained dry; the tears never spilled.

“I'm so sorry,” Weiss whispered, voice as fragile as spun glass.

“For what? Being too perfect? Being exactly what Yang needed?” Blake scoffed and kicked at the tile floor. “No, no. I'm just a pathetic idiot who could never work up the courage to just tell her what I wanted. Or… I did, and we had some fun, but… I tried to play it cool and missed my chance.”

Weiss found herself staring up at this heartbroken woman, her own heart following suit. “My God. You're really in love with her.”

“So?” This time, when she turned back to Weiss, her features were fierce, determined. “The better woman won. And I expect you to treat her right. You already do so much better at showing her how you feel than I ever could have, anyway. And you _are_ pretty, and incredible, and all those things. Maybe I'm a little jealous, but I don't want you to think… well, alright, I do resent you a tiny bit. But I promise it's nothing. I'm a big girl and I know you're a really swell gal, Weiss. This is about what's best for you two, not my sour grapes.”

Weiss no longer knew what to say. So after nearly a minute of trying to come up with something, anything, she simply threw her arms around Blake and squeezed her tightly.

“Oh, enough! Can't you just let me be upset?! This isn't something you can fix with-”

“I'm sorry!” Weiss sniffled, trying to squeeze even tighter even though her arms weren't capable of it. “Blake!”

After a few seconds of trying to squirm away, Blake sighed and begin to pet over her hair. “So sensitive…”

They remained like that for a minute or two, and eventually, Blake joined her in crying. Minutes slipped by as they both tried to vent all their strong emotions in one go. Then she had enough of the pity party and began pushing Weiss an arm's length away.

“Hey.” When the princess didn't look up right away, she cupped her cheeks with both hands, wiping the tear tracks away with her thumbs. “I'm going to be fine. It's just… fresh. Seeing her like that churned up all those feelings again, when I should be over this by now. Sorry for dumping all this on you when this should be your big day. It's… I feel like a jerk.”

“B-but you… you're so sweet, and tough, and amazing, and you deserve someone just as amazing as you are! It's not fair!”

“So give up Yang.” When Weiss's eyes widened, stunned, Blake laughed a little. “I'm kidding. But you do see my point, don't you? If we did that, then it wouldn't be fair to you. So the most fair thing is for Yang to be with the one she wants to be with.”

Weiss nodded emphatically, still sniffling. “Y-yeah. Of course I want her to be happy the most. But that doesn't mean I don't care about your happiness! You're my friend, too!”

This seem to catch the taller dragon off her guard, and she had to blink a few times to truly process the words. Then a slow, shy smile spread across her face. “Really? I thought you mostly thought of me as a Dragons tour guide. Helping keep you from drowning.”

“Are you kidding? Of course you are! But that's… not all it is, right?”

“No,” she admitted with a slight chuckle. “I'm sorry; you're right, we're friends. I'm just… irritable right now.”

Weiss hugged her tightly again. “You should have made Velvet watch instead. If I'd known it would be hard for you…”

“I know,” she whispered into her hair, rubbing up and down her back. “It's okay. I'm… okay. Or I _will_ be. But thank you for…” A helpless little shrug accompanied her next words. “How could I be miffed when you're so wonderful for her? Yang is happy, and you're happy, and I'm happy for you.”

“Really? You're not just saying that?”

“Cross my heart.” After a few more seconds, Blake sighed. “And it could be worse.”

With a semi-contented little hum, Weiss hugged her again. “How so?”

“You could have ended up as my mother-in-law. I mean, as much as my mom seems to have taken a shine to you?”

“Oh, stop! She's just teasing me, like all of you do constantly! I mean, you've both offered to ‘make me see stars’ and you weren't serious about that, either, right?”

Blake smirked slightly.

“Right?”

“Schnee, it's only sex. I'd even try with Ilia if I was bored enough. Most of us feel that way.” Seeing Weiss’s expression made her hastily add, “But if you and Yang want to go steady, that's great! I wish you all the best!”

A vague “uh-huh” floated out of Weiss as she swayed on the spot. It was bad enough when she thought she was being teased incessantly about something she thought was not a laughing matter. But if they were all _serious…_ then there were not just one or two, but _three_ women confessing earnest desires to be intimate with her - and the other Dragons had all expressed similar sentiments before. Maybe she had accepted that the average person thought she was “pretty”, but this was a whole other level that Weiss was not prepared for, and she found it both humbling and consternating.

“Aww,” Blake cooed while leading her back to the table. “New lesbians are so cute.”

* * *

Yang did apologize for snapping at their “witness” as soon as they returned to the table. Blake accepted the apology, even if her tone was a little frostier than Weiss would have hoped. It was unfortunate, but she understood; the Italian Dragon had been doing them a favour and Yang essentially thanked her by accusing her of being a Peeping Tom. That wasn’t easy to wave aside.

Not too long afterward, Kali brought out some celebratory burgers and a basket of french fries so huge that Weiss thought they would never finish them all off. Pools of ketchup started to decorate the table, and she could see Vernal rolling her eyes in disgust even from across the room.

Sadly, by the time she finished her food, it was time to leave. Pyrrha did come in to pick Weiss up, so at least she hadn’t found the last experience so harrowing that it scared her off forevermore. Her first glimpse of Weiss in the jacket had startled her, but afterward she was praising it and telling her that it flattered her frame. As purely sweet as Pyrrha was most of the time, that came as little surprise.

“Doesn’t she just look neato keen?” Emerald said, tone very slightly mocking as she laughed. “Maybe you could get one of those for yourself.”

“Me?!” she gasped with a hand pressed to her heart. “Oh, no, I couldn’t! My mother would have kittens!”

Laughing at her outrage, Cinder wrapped her arms tightly around the taller redhead’s waist. Somehow, she had convinced her to sit on her thigh the way Weiss was on Yang’s, and had on Blake’s before. That it had nothing to do with a healing burn in Pyrrha’s case seemed irrelevant to the brunette. “Maybe I could convince you.”

“I doubt that very much. But th-thank you for your interest!”

“Am I a Jehovah’s Witness? Thanking me and promising to read the Watchtower before you send me on my merry way?” But Cinder’s tone wasn’t as caustic as it could be; she was still pleased with her success in manipulating three of her fellow Dragons that day. Weiss was beginning to suspect that her passing interest in her friend wasn’t quite so passing as she would probably have everyone believe.

“N-no, you’re not,” Pyrrha sighed nervously.

Thinking she’d had enough teasing, Weiss said, “Maybe Pyrrha could come over here and sit on Yang’s other thigh. Keep me company.”

“Oh, that would be far too heavy! I… well, my muscle mass is dense from training; I weigh more than I look like I would.”

“I could handle it,” Yang laughed. “But you don’t have to if you’re comfortable there.”

“She’s comfortable.” Cinder’s hands began to smooth up and down Pyrrha’s stomach, and a blush began to creep into the tall woman’s cheeks. Weiss could tell it was pure shock with only a hint of shame; she simply had no response for this situation. “And so am I. Her firm rump is pretty warm, and it’s a little chilly in here.”

Even while Pyrrha was gulping, Blake reached over to swat her shoulder. “Do you always have to push so much? She’s practically flipping.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t be so chilly if you quit wearing those short little dresses,” Weiss remarked, which got the others laughing and pounding the table. Cinder, for part, merely sent a poisonous smile in her direction.

“Apparently, they’ve caught _your_ attention, Schnee.”

If she was going to be one of the Dragons, she needed to learn how to play this game of theirs - the ‘Intolerable Flirt’ game. “But they haven’t caught _me._ Does that mean they need to be shorter, or what fills them to be better?”

The others all went “OOOOH” and whistled before bursting into laughter. Emerald was the only one who looked a little nervous about that, glancing anxiously at Cinder’s scowl.

“Alright, alright,” Yang chortled. “Both of you ease off your trigger fingers. This is a party!”

“Very well,” Cinder sighed, redoubling her grip on the resigned Pyrrha. “And I do already have my party favour.”

“I will get her out of there if I need a crowbar,” Weiss warned her playfully. “Unless she’s really fine with you pawing all over her like that.”

Waving a hand, Pyrrha smiled bashfully. “No, no, it’s fine! She hasn’t hurt me, o-or made me _that_ uncomfortable.”

“But you are uncomfortable?” When she received no answer, Cinder impatiently pushed her off her lap. “Fine. Never mind then.”

“I… I’m sorry,” she said immediately. “Really, it wasn’t-”

“Forget it. I just thought we were having harmless fun, but there you are, waiting for it to be over, and I’m…” She picked up her bottle and let out a grunt of frustration when she discovered it was empty. “Be right back.”

Once she had stormed over to the bar, Pyrrha glanced at the empty seat. Yang quickly pulled her onto her own leg, and though she let out a squeak of surprise, it was followed by a quiet sigh. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“It’s okay. Sometimes Cindy comes on a little strong.”

“She knows I go with boys, doesn’t she? O-or at least, I _want_ to, even if I haven’t yet. But to hear her talk, I’m already one of you and simply, um… pretending, or something.”

Coco shrugged, leaning forward on her elbows. “It’s not your fault she thinks you’re a Dolly, all for her to play with.” The double entendre made Emerald snicker. “But I agree with her that you’re very attractive. Just… ignore her advances for long enough and she’ll get the idea. You don’t owe her anything more than that.”

“And you don’t have to sit on my lap, either,” Yang told her quietly. “But the table’s pretty full, and there aren’t any more chairs.”

Pyrrha wiggled back and forth a little, still looking flushed but less nervous compared to before. “You make a comfortable chair. And I’m sitting with my best friend! This is fine with me.”

“Awwwww, best friend,” Yang cooed at Weiss, who rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. “So cuuuuute!”

“Do you have room for one more?” Blake asked, waggling her eyebrows. It was a little gross, but at least it showed she was over her brief spell of heartsickness. Weiss counted that as a win.

“Sure, Belladonna. Pile on.”

All Weiss had time to do was yelp “What?!” before Blake was flopping across hers and Pyrrha’s laps. By hanging onto each other with one arm apiece, they were able to keep from falling to either side, but Blake had to wrap herself a little harder forward and nearly slipped onto the table. An errant kick resulted in Coco complaining about ketchup getting on her jacket, though everyone was laughing so hard that her complaint was barely audible.

“Oh, fine!” Cinder blustered when she returned. “So it’s just _my_ lap!” Everyone laughed so hard she couldn’t even stay upset, instead grunting something and turning away to hide her own bemused smile.

* * *

“You really do have some interesting friends,” Pyrrha remarked as they drove back home.

“Yes. And one who couldn’t keep her meathooks off your body.”

Dipping her head, though not so much she couldn’t see the road ahead of them, she thought about her response for a moment as “Sweet Little Sixteen” played on the radio quietly. “The attention is nice. Though I don’t feel the same way about Cinder as she seems to feel about me.”

“Hmm.” As they rolled up to a stop sign, she glanced over and said, “You’re handling this remarkably well.”

“What do you mean? Her being a woman?” When Weiss nodded, she shrugged. “Well, I suppose it’s still strange to me. But you and Yang seem happy.”

“And do you think you could be happy with a girl?”

“Golly, no! I just don’t have any interest in them that way!”

Leaning against the door, Weiss stared out the window as the trees flashed past. One or two leaves were beginning to turn here and there. “I used to think that, too. But then again, you’ve actually got one coming after you and still feel the same way. Maybe…”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe I always liked women and just didn’t know it. Does that sound kooky or what?”

Her friend thought about that for a little longer, as well. “I don’t think it’s that kooky. After all, we’ve always only seen husbands and wives together; boys going with girls. Why should we have ever thought about it at all before these Dragons started whistling at you?”

“True,” she sighed wearily. “I’m just sorry if… well, if it’s harder being my friend now.”

They had been at the next stop sign for a few minutes before Weiss realised they could have driven away a long time ago. When she looked over, she saw Pyrrha looked completely stricken, frown lines worrying her noble forehead.

“What is it?”

“I’ll _always_ be your friend!” she told her urgently. “This is… I know it might be a sin, and certainly unusual, but I know you’re still a wonderful person! Why should I let that change anything?”

“Oh,” she half-laughed in relief. “Okay, you’re right. I didn’t mean to upset you; of course I have confidence in our friendship.”

“Good,” she said with a slight smile, reaching over to squeeze her hand briefly. Then she took the wheel again and steered them toward home. “Of course, it _is_ a little worrying that their ‘club’ is in an abandoned building. But it looks like they’re taking good care of it.”

Snickering, Weiss leaned against the door to gaze out the window again. “Only you could have a friend tell you she’s started making whoopee with a woman, become part of a gang, and the only thing you care about is the municipal building code.”

“Well, safety is important!” Further giggling became contagious this time, and they both laughed the rest of the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody. I'm truly sorry if any of you were worried about me being "gotten" by the Coronavirus; I swear I'm fine, and as far as I know so are the other members. Mostly I've just been doing my job (it's healthcare related so exempt from lockdowns), trying to wear masks and handwash and sanitize, social distancing and all that. Hope you're all doing the same. We can beat this scary ass virus if we all work together.
> 
> And I promise I'll try to post more often. I just have had some pretty bad writer's block and lack of motivation with editing. See you soon!


	16. Chapter 16

**=Chapter 16**

Life was good for the next few days. Though Weiss hated having to sneak around town the way she did, at least it meant she could be with Yang. They spent every available moment with their lips locked together, hands sliding up and down lightly-sweating backs. Maybe they never found a good time to go any further than they had thus far, but she wasn’t overly concerned; they had all the time in the world.

Despite the allure of the depot’s solitude, it was also slightly dangerous due to the neighbourhood, and getting increasingly chilly. This was the reason the most recent of their “dates” occurred somewhere a little unconventional for the besotted couple.

“Great chicken, Mrs. B,” Yang said around a mouthful as Kali returned from the kitchen for the eighth time.

“Thank you,” she sighed with a weary smile as she sat at last. “Sorry for running in and out, girls. I’m just trying to make sure the _cassata_ doesn’t burn.”

Blake shrugged in a weary manner. “You know I could go look for you. Stop being a martyr.”

“I’m not a martyr,” she said in an overly-affected tone. “I’m just a housewife without a husband. Doomed to wander this earth alone!”

Weiss had just been rolling her eyes. Then she felt the tip of a shoe prod her under the table; it was coming from Blake. She hissed, “What?”

“This is your line.”

“Huh?”

“Mom’s ‘alone forever’, and you’re supposed to rescue her,” she said, though she was looking at her mother the whole while instead of Weiss. “Isn’t that right?”

“It was supposed to be a soliloquy,” she cackled as she stirred the chicken and pasta around on her plate, preparing to scoop some up.

“Oh, Kali!” Weiss said, pressing both hands to her heart. The elbow movement made Yang duck out of the way instinctively, even though it would have missed. “I cannot bear to hear of your loneliness! Say it isn’t so!”

They all clapped, and Weiss waved at them to leave her alone. Then Blake said, “You oughtta join the drama club. Maybe you could play Emily in _‘Our Town’_.”

Swallowing her current bite, Yang put in, “I heard they’re gonna put on _‘Oklahoma!’_ next year. Might not happen until we already graduated, though.”

“You really think so?” Weiss said with a wider smile. “You know, I’ve always thought I could be very dramatic…”

“No kidding.” At the tone, she frowned at Yang and sat down quickly. “I’m just kidding, Weiss! Wow, didn’t think it would rattle your cage _that_ much.”

“If I’m so dramatic, why are you with me? Hm?”

“Because the drama is exciting.” They leaned closer and closer, Yang grinning wolfishly, Weiss frowning as deeply as she could be - even though the frown was quivering with her efforts not to burst out laughing. In the end, she lost, and they giggled before going back to their food.

Blake sighed. “I know this is dinner, but I’m about to lose my lunch.”

“Sorry,” Yang laughed. Weiss glanced at her with slightly more concern, due to the private information to which only she was privy, but Blake didn’t meet her eyes. “We’ll keep it a little less friendly.”

“Don’t on our account,” Kali chuckled, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “I’ve seen it all before - and done most of it myself.”

_“Mom!”_ Blake hissed.

“What? Your dear old mother’s supposed to act like she’s dead now?” Even as Blake was rolling her eyes, she pushed up from the table. “Be right back.”

“Again?” Yang asked. “C’mon, sit down. Let it go a little longer.”

“Not if we want dessert! This time, I’m sure it’s ready to come out - and then I have to do the icing. This is my fault for not getting it done earlier when I _knew_ I should have…”

As she left, Weiss was glancing between her and her daughter. Blake had been a little sullen ever since they got there. Before that, she had been doing quite well with the situation all week; cracking jokes the same as anyone else during the few moments she dared stop by their table. It was infuriating, having to keep from talking to them in the hallways lest her annoyance of a brother take it upon himself to report back what he had seen, but this was the situation in which they found themselves. All they could do was make the best of it - and keep her jacket in Pyrrha’s car trunk.

But now, she had to do something for her other friend. Standing quickly, she said, “Let me help you with that icing!”

A little late, she realised Blake was doing the same thing. “Oh… uh, why?”

“Don’t worry about that!” Kali said with a genuine smile. “You’re guests! Why would I ask that of you?”

“Well… I want to help! Might be fun!” That sounded like a pathetic excuse, even to her own ears, but it was too late. “You get started, I just have to ask Yang something.”

As Kali shrugged and went through the door, Weiss waited impatiently for Yang to stop blinking at her and get up. In a whisper, she ordered her, “Talk to Blake.”

“What? I mean, I have been. What do you mean?”

“She’s feeling…” There was no way she could divulge the whole truth, since that would be a breach of Blake’s trust, so she had to compromise. “I think she’s been a little lonely. You’re best friends, aren’t you? But you’re spending so much time with me that I think she’s feeling left out. So just… try, while I’m helping her mom?”

Yang had started to glance over her shoulder at Blake, but caught herself just in time before she made it obvious that was what they were talking about. “Oh. I mean… you really think so? Wow… chee, I never thought- I’m a real butthead.”

“You’re not. I think we’re allowed to be real gone for the first _week_ after confessing our undying affections.”

“Yeah,” she said with a shy grin, and Weiss grinned back. She leaned forward and left a peck on her cheek. “Go on, I’ll see what I can do.”

Weiss returned the cheek-kiss herself, then passed through into the kitchen. She just barely caught Yang going, “Eyyyy, so…” before the door swung shut and she couldn’t hear the rest.

Presently, Mrs. Belladonna was just setting the cake on top of her cooling rack, which was perched on the stovetop range. Luckily, she was clothed this time - in a black halterneck dress with white polka dots, high-heeled pumps to match, and gold earrings and pearls to accent. Really, she looked phenomenal, even if most housewives certainly wouldn’t wear something so light and flirty for a simple dinner at home.

“How can I help?”

“By going back in and talking to your friends,” she said pointedly, shooting a brief smile over her shoulder. “Honestly, I don’t know why you want to be in here when you’re our guest.”

Trying to come up with an excuse that didn’t involve admitting that she thought Blake needed more time with her girlfriend, strange as that would sound, she said, “Because! Um… obviously, I didn’t do as well in Home Ec as my friends did, and… and I would love to watch a master at work! Yes!”

The woman’s amber eyes - a hereditary trait, apparently - narrowed at her for a long moment. Then she said, “Sugar.”

“What? Hey, I’m being serious!”

“You’re sweet, but you aren’t sugar,” she snorted, gesturing to the counter behind her. Embarrassed, Weiss picked up the large jar. “I need five tablespoons in this bowl. I’ll get the orange liqueur and the ricotta.”

In short order, the two managed to make the _“sciroppo di zucchero”_, as Kali called it; it looked like syrup to Weiss. Then they set that aside and moved on to the frosting, which was made up of a fresh-squeezed lemon and confectioners sugar - the latter of which got _everywhere_ because Weiss thought it would pour the same way as regular sugar. Kali laughed for quite a while, even as she got a wet dishcloth to wipe down her grumpy face.

“This is ridiculous!” she groused, arms folded over her chest. “I thought I knew how to bake, at least a little, and I’m making a mess!”

“It’s not that bad, _signorina_,” she tittered. Weiss tried to pretend having the older woman dote on her didn’t evoke two very different kind of feelings at the same time; an odd fluttering of excitement, and a dull ache of loss due to her own mother not being part of her life in that way. But there was no sense in putting either of those on Kali. “There, all clean. Now, we start building.”

As Weiss returned the cloth to the sink for her, she asked, “Building what?”

“The cake. Here, watch.”

Not that there was much to watch. Kali was so practiced that all she had to do was take a knife, hold the cake in the middle, and take one horizontal swipe so that it turned into two thinner cakes. First try! Weiss knew that no matter how much work she put into it, she would never be that effortless in the kitchen.

“Now pour the syrup onto the bottom layer,” she instructed. “Evenly as you can. This is what I always let Blake do, because you can’t really ‘hurt’ the cake during this part.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” she grunted, and Kali laughed again. But Weiss had to admit, it felt good to be able to help without fear of ruining the whole confection. Once the syrup was drizzled on, Kali added a layer of ricotta, then they repeated both actions with the second layer once it was placed upon its mate.

“There. Now we just let this chill for about an hour.”

“Good.” She watched as she slid it into the refrigerator, then eased it shut. “So… what now?”

“Put a towel over the icing. And hand me that small Tupperware of candied fruits.” Weiss obeyed on both counts while Kali wiped down the counter quickly, ridding it of the rest of her confectioners mess. “Those will be ready to go once it’s chilled. Though sometimes, you’ll have to add a little water to get the right consistency.”

“Wow, there’s so much to remember,” she half-laughed, and Kali grinned at her. “I don’t remember the cakes in class being _anything_ this complicated.”

Her index finger raised for emphasis. “Ahhh, but they weren’t Italian cakes. We pride ourselves on making everything far more complex than needed.” They both shared a little giggle. “Take my daughter out there. She really got herself in a pickle, didn’t she?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Letting you slide in and steal the woman she had her heart set on.” When Weiss looked shocked, she held up a hand to forestall her. “No, it’s alright. It’s Blake’s fault, not yours. You did what came naturally when you felt an attraction to Yang.”

“You knew she liked her? And… and you didn’t try to stop me?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she went back to wiping down the counter, even though it was nearly spotless. “Should I have? I think you two really suit each other. And my Blake and Yang _could_ have suited each other, but if they were meant to be, it would have come to pass. One of them would have made a move to close that gap between them. Alas, no such thing happened - and I don’t even think it’s my daughter who’s to blame. I believe fate plays a larger role in love than we foolish mortals like to believe it does.”

“Fate, huh?” she sighed, leaning back against the stove. It was still a little warm, but not bad enough to burn her by now. “Wish I could believe that. Instead, I feel like… like I stole her. Exactly how you put it.”

“Ohhh, honey.” Kali walked over to hold her shoulders bracingly. “You can’t steal anything that isn’t a possession. Yang is her own woman. The same way if I tried to turn your head, I wouldn’t be ‘stealing’ you, and if Blake finally made her move, she wouldn’t be ‘stealing’ Yang. You and Yang are the ones who have _chosen_ to be together, and that is the choice that matters most. Really, it’s the _only_ one that does.”

For a second or two, she took that in, letting out a couple of sighs as Kali pet up and down one of her shoulders. Then she smiled up at her. “Thanks, Mrs. Belladonna. Or… Kali, sorry.”

“Better. Or _‘Kali-carina’_, if you want.”

“Oh, is that your middle name?” A shake of her head. “Maiden name?”

“It means ‘Cute little Kali’,” she purred in a seductive voice. But by now, Weiss was just _barely_ able to tell that she was teasing, even if her teasing was slicker than that of the younger Dragons.

“Ha, ha.”

Her smirk was still coy, but at least she stood back a little further. “Wow, you really are growing up. It makes me want to chase you around the kitchen even more.”

“Stop that!” she laughed, and Kali brought up her manicured nails to form scary wolf-claws. “Hey!”

“Something more delicious than my cassata has wandered into this kitchen! I… I can’t control myself!” She pounced, but the move was so telegraphed that Weiss could easily dance to the side, giggling even louder.

“Enough! I’ll put you out with the fire extinguisher!”

“Hold still so I can catch you, little mouse!” This time, when Weiss scampered away, she didn’t follow, merely laughing and holding her stomach. It took a moment or two for her to recover enough to groan, “Ohhh… oh, that’s too much fun! I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.”

Wiping her eyes, Weiss returned to stand near the counter, still braced to run if she needed to. “Don’t you and Blake play around like that at all?”

“Oh, no. Well, we used to, but I’m afraid she’s a bit too old to want to ‘play with Mama’ anymore.” Her eyes turned bittersweet, but she looked contented with the way things turned out. “Such a big girl now, I almost can’t believe it. Feels like someone stole my baby and replaced her with an adult.”

Weiss’s heart went out to her. “Well, I’m not too old.”

“I daresay you aren’t. Since… you had a significant portion of your life with no mother?” When Weiss only blinked in surprise, she shrugged. “You don’t have to explain. Though last I checked, Jacques Schnee is not a widower.”

As briefly as she could, Weiss explained, “They aren’t happy. And Mother drinks to pretend she is. The mornings, before she’s had her first drink… she’s the most miserable person I’ve ever known. And the rest of the day, she’s a stranger.”

“Ohhhhh,” she breathed in a voice of such real disappointment and sympathy that Weiss had to turn away from her completely. She didn’t want to be pitied, didn’t want to see that in someone’s eyes when they looked at her. She didn’t want to think about just how awful her home situation was for any longer than necessary, nor be reminded of it by unwelcome pandering. “I am sorry.”

“I am, too. So let’s not worry about that, since there’s nothing we can do.”

“Agreed.” Though Kali still looked a bit shaken by the revelation, she forced a smile onto her face as she gently took Weiss’s elbow. “I think I took you away from the last of your dinner, so… so let’s go polish that off while we wait for the cake to chill.”

As Kali's arm fell around Weiss's shoulders, she found herself leaning into the comforting presence. Probably because of their most recent topic of discussion. As usual, the woman seemed to know when teasing would not be ideal, so she definitely did nothing of that nature as they paced out into the dining room.

Only to find it empty. Of course, the table and their leftover meals were still there, but Yang and Blake were nowhere to be seen. They only had time to glance at each other before they heard a distant voice from upstairs.

“Oh, did we lose them?” Kali muttered as she headed for the stairs, pausing to listen. Weiss bumped into her from behind, having expected her to keep going. “Oh!”

“Ah, sorry!”

“It’s alright.” She was already cupping a hand around her ear, tilting her head. After a moment, she sighed, “Well, it doesn’t sound like ‘fun noises’, so shall we go see what we’re missing?”

About halfway up the stairs, Weiss finally figured out what she meant by ‘fun noises’ and nearly tripped.

Once heading down the hallway, she heard more clearly that Yang was speaking. They were just getting close enough when she caught, “...so we can have a normal conversation?” The response was muffled. “Well, we can’t do it this way, you germ-head!”

“What’s all this about?” Kali asked softly.

“Oh, your brat is being a… a brat!”

“Care to elaborate?”

“I am not!” Blake shouted through the wood of her bedroom door. Which at least cleared up why Yang sounded so frustrated.

“She’s mad because she figured out Weiss asked me to talk to her,” Yang sighed. “And _maybe_ it’s not a _problem anyway!”_

“Shut up!”

Pushing her hand into her face for a moment, Kali muttered, “Perfect. Creating problems where they didn’t exist before.” Smiling sweetly at the two girls she could actually see at the moment, she asked, “Do you mind going back down to finish your supper? I’ll see what I can do with my daughter.”

Something about the sweet smile felt a little ominous to Weiss. Based on that, she caught Yang by the elbow and dragged her back downstairs.

“Sorry,” she sighed wearily. “I didn’t mean for her to figure it out. I just ran out of stuff to talk about, and she guessed. What was I supposed to say? I didn’t wanna lie, but then she got even madder when-”

“It’s okay,” Weiss headed her off, petting up and down her shoulders. “Really. Just… c’mere.” Leaning up, she kissed her cheek. “Thank you for trying. And I bet Blake will appreciate it later, when she’s feeling less…”

When Weiss never finished her thought, she glanced up toward the ceiling. “Less like a bitch?”

“Less betrayed. She probably feels like we had some big plan we discussed before we got here, and she was in the dark. Hard to blame her.” With a put-upon sigh, she turned back to the table. “Well, I guess we should eat, since it’s what Kali told us to do.”

“And you _always_ do what you’re told, huh, good little girl?” But Yang sat down, anyway.

They barely had time to finish off their meal before a yelp came from the ceiling, followed by steps on their way down the stairs. Not long afterward, the Belladonnas returned, and one of them was being pulled along by the shell of her ear - and it definitely wasn’t the mother.

“Ow, ow, _ow!”_

“Apologise to your friends right now. For what you said, and for your behaviour.”

Though Blake looked quite sullen, she also looked so embarrassed that Weiss had a hard time watching her at all. “Alright! I’m sorry!”

“For what?”

“For-” Annoyed beyond her limits, she pushed the hand off, and Kali took a step back so Blake could apologise on her own terms. Still looking at the floor, she went on, “For getting too upset about nothing. You were trying to be nice, and I lost my head.”

“You got jealous,” Kali corrected.

“Jealous?” When glancing between them yielded no answers, Yang asked, “Jealous of what, me? If you want Weiss that bad, you can have her.”

“HEY!” Weiss yelped immediately. “I’m not a bargaining chip!”

After a moment of tense silence, Yang trying to find a way to gracefully backpedal from a joke gone wrong, Blake sighed. “No, not that. It’s just… you spend so much time together now, and sometimes it feels like I never see you anymore. Stupid, I know. But I can’t help it.”

“That’s what Weiss told me. And I’m sorry,” she went on before Blake could snap something unkind at the princess. “It’s my fault, okay? My fault for… kind of ignoring you, even if it wasn’t on purpose. You know that, right? I’m just figuring out how me and Weiss fit together, that’s all. But you’re always gonna be my right-hand chick. You _know_ that.”

“Really?” Blake whispered. “Even… when you two are married and living together?”

“Like we could do that,” Weiss scoffed. “Marriage is for _straighties_. But… yes, even when we’re old and gray, we’ll still be your friends. I hope, anyway.”

It only took her a minute or so to think through her feelings, sigh in defeat, and walk forward to give Yang a quick, “manly” hug that mostly consisted of a few quick pats on the back before they stepped away from each other again.

“Glad that’s settled,” Kali sighed. “Now, I need to borrow one of you again to frost this cake. Weiss, would you like to volunteer? Or would you, Blake?”

“No way,” she grunted, still rubbing her ear. “I don’t want to be within an arm’s length of you for the rest of the night.”

Laughing merrily again, she gestured for Weiss to join her. Once they were in the kitchen, she could hear the conversation start up again, but decided to get back to work on the cake before she caught any words. After all, as she was fast coming to understand, some things just weren’t her business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! Might be a minute before this fic continues, but I will try to make it not TOO long. In the meantime I hope you guys are enjoying Lady Stardust!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: The word “Negro” is only used for historical accuracy in this chapter, as it was the most polite/inoffensive term in the 1950s. As a POC myself I think history should not be erased. I'm a strong supporter of BLM, and if you wanna debate that you can just take it right off this fic; I'm gonna delete super politically-charged comments (especially if you're a racist lol, you might get reported)

**=Chapter 17**

Pyrrha showed up just in time for the cake, as it turned out, since it had to chill before it was ready to be served. In the interim, they had all chatted and played a game of poker, which only proved that Kali had even more talents than previously were visible. Luckily, they were only playing for starlight mints instead of real money.

As anyone could have predicted, Kali took an immediate liking to Weiss's childhood friend. She did tease her once - asked if she wanted a little “extra sugar” with her slice of cassata, leaning in a little too close - but when Pyrrha flushed and pulled away, she left her unmolested for the rest of the night. Pyrrha clearly appreciated that consideration.

The two drove back home with full bellies and high spirits, Weiss even moreso due to dinner before the dessert; Pyrrha was just filled with cake and milk. They took the long way home, both to throw anyone who might be trying to follow them off the scent, and to enjoy the evening for a few seconds more.

“I never thought I would say this, but… I really do like your new friends.”

“Yeah?” Weiss couldn't help the huge grin that broke out across her face. “They like you, too. Though I am sorry they can't seem to stop flirting.”

“I already told you, I don't mind. Even Cinder, as long as she doesn’t go too far. They are simply expressing desires that come very natural to them. Maybe they don't to me, but I'm starting to realize that they aren't as ‘unnatural’ as the church would have us believe.”

The church had scarcely occurred to her. The Schnee family weren't much for religion at all, since her father considered himself “an educated man”, as he was quick to inform anyone who broached the subject. “Yeah. Maybe not.”

“And…” After taking a deep breath, she continued, “I think I can handle the flirting, as long as you don't join in.”

“What?! But I would never-”

“I know, but you probably thought you would never date a woman at all,” she went on stubbornly, despite how uncomfortable she looked to be discussing this. “I'm not trying to say that you were thinking about doing it; just… expressing my gratitude that I know you understand. That if they ever start going too far, you'll always be there to step in and stop them.”

Weiss nodded as she absorbed that. Maybe it wasn't quite fair for Pyrrha to assume that she would ever change her behavior that drastically, but she could also understand the mindset looking from the outside-in. All the more reason for her to keep an eye on the other Dragons; as often as Yang reassured her that they wouldn't really have forced her into anything she didn't want, they were still extremely pushy.

Before she could respond, she noticed her friend leaning in to squint over the steering wheel. “What… what is that? Up there.”

Two men seemed to be standing in the middle of the street. At first, Weiss was only concerned that they were trying to get themselves run over - or just being a general nuisance. Then she recognized one of them by his bristly white mustache and groaned.

“Great. What is this fresh pleasure?”

“We're about to find out,” Pyrrha sighed as she pulled over to the curb. Weiss had already shucked her leather jacket and was in the process of stuffing it under her seat. “Do you remember our alibi for today?”

“The diner? Or… wait, we were going for a Sunday drive.”

“But it's Friday.”

“You know what I mean!” Without waiting for her to answer, she exited the car.

The two fathers were waiting for them. This close, Weiss could indeed tell that the other man was Mr. Nikos; she hadn't been able to tell from further away. His red hair was thinning on top, but otherwise he was quite the good-looking fellow; a burly ex-Olympian who was definitely the driving force behind Pyrrha’s career in track and field. 

“Hello, Father,” Weiss said shortly.

“Where exactly have you two been keeping yourselves?” he asked without preamble.

“Out driving. We had a nice meal and decided to enjoy the fresh air before it gets too cold to-”

His overly loud sigh interrupted Weiss's words. “Spare me the double talk. I've already confirmed that neither of you have been to the diner all day today. Now, would you like to amend your story?”

“It's true,” Pyrrha added, her voice a lot stronger than expected. Weiss was furious that he was checking up on her, but she would handle that later. “We found a quaint little place by accident, had our supper there. Since it isn't a school night, we thought it would be fun to splurge and try something new.”

“Mmhmmm. And what sort of new things did you try?”

Something about the way her father had phrased that made Weiss uncomfortable. She couldn't put her finger on why right away, but it made her hesitant to answer.

“Shall we share our hypothesis with the class? Very well then.” Barely glancing at Mr. Nikos, he began to pace back and forth, still in the middle of the street. “Already, we've caught you hanging around that uncouth girl. The one you've been warned against spending time with. Or don't you recall that?”

Throat dry, Weiss managed to rasp, “Of course.” This was it. They were about to be defeated, and everything was going to get so much worse.

“I've heard from Whitley that you spend a lot of time with a strange group of girls. Granted, you haven't spent any time with them since our little talk, but it is something you've been guilty of in the past. And now, you are spending a little  _ too _ much time with Miss Nikos.”

“Well, it's not that I mind so much as all that,” the other parent said in a more mild tone than Weiss's father.

“Shush.” Weiss wanted to run up to him and kick him in the shin for talking to her friend's father that way, but she resisted for the time being. “You can see how this looks to us. It would look that way to anyone. So I hope you aren't terribly offended when I suggest that you spend a little less time together from now on.”

Of course, she knew exactly what he meant. Still, she had a good defense prepared for just such an accusation. It had originally been about Yang, but the sentiment worked just as well for Pyrrha.

First, she would start with feigning ignorance. “No, Father, I can't see how it looks to you. What's wrong with having a good chum and spending my free time with her?”

“As I said,” he went on patiently - though a muscle tick had appeared in his jaw. “It's not your chosen company, who is at least an improvement over that other hooligan. It's the  _ amount _ of time. This is far more than any two gal pals would entertain each other's company.”

“Is it? I mean, how do you know? Have you spent a lot of time as a gal with pals?”

His face darkened. “Weiss Schnee, you will not sass me in this manner.”

“I'm not sassing you! I'm merely trying to point out that you've never been a teenaged girl. You can hardly be expected to understand our sisterhood.”

“Fine,” he growled. “But it doesn't matter. I have put my foot down and I expect you to obey me. Understand?”

“Please, Mr. Schnee,” Pyrrha began in a humble voice. “I really don't understand. What do you think will happen if we spend too much time together? Is it her homework? I always do mine - we do it together!”

“That is  _ not _ the concern.”

“Then what is? If I know what the problem is, I can try to rectify it! B-but I don't want to lose my friendship with your daughter purely because… because of a reason you won't even tell me!”

Those were real tears sliding down her best friend's cheeks. In the back of her head, Weiss was thinking it was Pyrrha who deserved to be in  _ ‘Our Town’ _ .

“He means that you're behaving a little too…  _ familiar _ with each other,” Mr. Nikos provided, looking quite ill at the prospect.

“What does that mean? How can we be too familiar? Doesn't the Good Book say to love our neighbor as ourself? I'm only trying to be a good friend and a good Christian to my neighbor.”

That seemed to finally do it. Though her own father looked relieved, Weiss was still squinting at them suspiciously. But there didn't seem to be anything more he could accuse them of without simply shouting more unfounded nonsense. So he sighed and shook his head, gesturing for Weiss to go inside.

“Sorry about this,” Weiss whispered to Pyrrha, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Then she hugged her very briefly, very chaste, and they shared an awkward smile before parting ways.

As the Studebaker was moved into the garage, her father joined her on their way up to the front door. “Don't you think for a second this is over. You may have fooled those Greeks with your Trojan Horse lies, but you won't fool me.”

“And don't think your pretend concern fools anyone,” she told him in a dangerous tone of her own. “You only care that you can't control me as well as you wish.”

“Don't speak to me in that-”

“What have I really done wrong? Snuck out once, just to check in on my friend? And I know,” she interrupted before he could interrupt. “You don't approve of Yang. She really isn't as awful as you think, but I've respected your wishes, and haven't brought her around anymore. And now you're suspecting my best friend, a girl so sweet she could be in an Ovaltine commercial, of being a bad influence? Where does it end? Am I just not allowed to have any friends at all?”

“Not the type of friends that you are engaging with lately. You've already demonstrated delinquent behavior, so why should I believe you when you state that you are giving it up simply because I've asked you to? Delinquents already misbehave, and you have done nothing to prove that you've reformed entirely.”

Weiss wanted so badly to shout at him. She wanted to kick him, or to tell him everything that was really going on and watch him be completely shocked. But she knew that Salem was counting on her to remain in his good graces - and despite not trusting her, she already trusted her more than she trusted her own father, tragic as that may be.

“I'm trying my best, Father. And I'm not doing anything wrong, I haven't hurt anyone - I'm keeping my grades up and spending leisure time with Pyrrha. And whatever kind of negative influence you seem to think she is, I promise you that she isn't. Can't you tell that just by talking to her?”

The man considered for a moment, still glaring down at her as they came to a stop in the living room. “I thought I could tell that by talking to you. Apparently, I was mistaken. But fine, pretend that all is well and you aren't about to disgrace our family name. You'll either prove that you were right, or you'll prove me right. Eventually.”

As the man headed to his seat by the fire, Weiss stomped upstairs. If she never saw him again, it would still be too soon.

* * *

Saturday was largely boring for Weiss. Hoping to appease her unreasonable parent, she spent most of her time practicing her singing lessons, and going over schoolwork to make sure it was ready for Monday morning. Her mother was present for breakfast, and she tried to engage her in conversation, but as usual the woman was already mentally divorced from everything around her. And with the male members of her family being so intolerable, she decided to avoid them altogether whenever possible.

But Sunday, she received a shock in the early afternoon. When Pyrrha came over, she felt vague surprise; she had expected her to keep her distance for a little while after essentially being accused of “deviant behaviour” without it being openly stated.

“I had to come right away,” she whispered once they were alone in Weiss’s room.

“Why?” She pressed a paper napkin into her hands. “What’s this?”

Squirming for a brief moment, Pyrrha breathed, “Did you know that… th-that Mrs. Belladonna works at that Italian restaurant downtown?”

“No, I didn’t,” she confessed. Privately, she thought it was an entirely fitting occupation for the woman.

“She does. I had to try very hard to keep a straight face when she came out to ask my family if we were having a nice meal. Then she said I ‘dropped my napkin’, though I still had mine in my lap. She stooped to pick it up, and…”

Weiss was afraid that Pyrrha was about to confess that Kali had made stronger overtures toward her friend. “And?”

“A-and it was like a magic trick! Her hands moved so smoothly, no one besides me could tell she took the napkin from my lap, pulled one from her apron pocket, and presented that to me as if it were the one I dropped! Really, I wouldn’t be surprised if she did shows in Las Vegas or something!”

“Oh,” she sighed in sheer relief. “Alright, well that’s… strange, but nothing worth flipping your lid over. Though I might have to ask if she has any card tricks.”

“No, no - it’s not that. Read it.”

“Read what?”

“The napkin,” she said impatiently, unfolding it for her… 

And revealing a hastily-scribbled note. Suddenly, Weiss had realised that this wasn’t just a strange story that didn’t affect her. It was the beginning of something larger.

‘ _ Parlay went south. Rumble tonight - old factory, 5pm. Sorry but S needs you there. Love you sweetie.’ _

The fact that Kali had taken the time to tack on the last sentence did touch Weiss, even if it was easily eclipsed by the rest of the message. Reading between the lines, she had a feeling the real shape of the matter was that Salem didn’t need her in particular, but that  _ all _ Dragons were supposed to be in attendance, or their loyalties would be called into question. 

“What is a ‘rumble’?” Pyrrha was whispering softly. “D-do you think- should I stay, just to make sure everything’s alright?”

“No! I mean…” Reading through the note again and committing the details to memory, she wadded it up in her hand. “No, Pyrrha. Thank you, but you aren’t one of us. I don’t want you in danger, too.”

“But I want to help!”

Her heart breaking, she hugged her tightly. “Absolutely not. I already feel bad enough for dragging you into this as much as I have, so… so if you got hurt because of me, I would never forgive myself. I hate to ask you to help me at all, so just… please, drive me over to the Belladonna’s an hour earlier, then go straight home. Do you understand?”

“No, I don’t, but… I trust you. Even if I wish I could do more.” They patted each other on the back. “I wish I weren’t the bearer of bad news.”

“It’s alright. Excuse me, I need to use the little girls’ room.”

As she watched the torn-up napkin swirl and rocket down the hole in the bottom of the toilet bowl, Weiss felt like she might be ill. But there was no sense in worrying herself sick now. There would be plenty of time for that when she got to the site of the rumble.

* * *

“Thank you for coming,” Kali sighed as they followed Blake to the factory. Weiss had already struggled into her leather jacket, and had dressed in blue jeans and a darker blouse in the hopes it would make her look less like a square. “I know this can’t have been an appealing way to spend your evening.”

“It wasn’t. Does Salem really expect me to be able to do anything? I’ve never so much as punched anyone in my life!”

With a long sigh, she pulled up behind Blake’s hog along the curb. This was an out-of-the-way location that they felt would be a safer place for the car; Blake would ferry the other two women to the actual rumble site one at a time. The trip had already taken twice as long, due to having to ensure they weren’t followed, so now they were trying to make haste. 

“I understand. But if you don’t show, Salem will assume being a Dragon isn’t important to you. And if it isn’t important, it isn’t anything worth protecting.”

“That’s what I thought,” she grumbled.

“Just hang back,” she whispered, shaking a little with nerves. “The rest of us are a little more practiced at this kind of thing. We… might get a little bloodied up, but it’s very rare for anyone to die. Small town like Vale, rumours circulate pretty fast, and none of us want undue attention.”

“So no guns?”

“No guns. Probably a few baseball bats, but mostly fists and wits.”

“They don’t feel like louts for hitting girls?” When Kali laughed, she frowned as they got out of the car. “What’s so funny? I can’t believe they would actually hit us!”

“They know we could cut them down if given the chance. And since very few of us would consider dating them, it’s easy for them to not even consider us women anymore.”

That didn’t seem quite right to Weiss. They were still women, regardless of whom they dated. However, Kali was already hopping onto the motorcycle behind her daughter, so then she had no one to voice her displeasure to. No sense talking to the wind.

After a few minutes, Blake returned, idling for a moment. Weiss moved to get on but she turned around and said, “Wait.”

“What is it? I don’t want to be late and upset anyb-”

“I want you to know something.” After a few quick breaths, to prepare herself to speak, she said, “Yang is going to be trying really hard to protect you out there. And I’ll be trying to protect Yang. So just… don’t worry about doing your part, or helping either of us. Just protect yourself. By doing that, you’ll be shielding Yang as best you can with what you’ve got. That’s… that’s all I had to say.”

“Alright.” Then she hopped onto the bike behind Blake, sliding her arms around her middle. “But Blake?”

“What?”

“I know you won’t care, but I really hope we all make it out of this okay. That means you, too.”

She could just barely see the ghost of a smile flicker across her lips. “Really? If I didn’t, I would be out of your way.”

“You aren’t  _ in _ my way in the first place. Aren’t we friends? Or did that whole conversation mean nothing?”

“No, no, it did. And we are. I’m sorry.” One of her hands lowered just enough to pat the back of Weiss’s hand before she took off from the curb.

When they got to the factory, the two different factions were clearly visible from far away - simply by the length of the hair of one side. Getting closer to the fenced-in parking lot, it was easier to tell differences besides that. Weiss was still pretty far away from the other side of the parking lot where the Huntsmen were gathered, but she thought she recognised the blue-haired boy from her first visit to Junior’s.

“You decided to grace us with your presence,” Salem said mildly. It struck Weiss that she still wore the heavy cloak, all but completely obscuring her face and arms. “Punctual. And admirable, for a new Dragon. Young Ilia has not arrived yet.”

Ignoring her wildly fluctuating pulse, Weiss gave a slight curtsy. Her healing brand seemed to tinge merely from Salem’s close proximity. “Well, m-maybe she got held up in traffic?”

“Are you making excuses for her?”

“No, High Dragon.”

“Good.” Turning back to the other women, she said, “The hour draws near. We have… five minutes before our warlord will approach theirs and dictate the terms of the rumble. Settle business if business is to be settled. If we can’t reach an amicable agreement, the rumble commences in ten minutes.”

It was at that point Yang stepped forward, cracking her neck. Weiss noticed she was ignoring her; keeping her focus on the matter at hand. It hurt a little, but she tried not to take it personally. “I’m ready.”

“Is the Duchess ready to attend the final parlay with the warlord?”

“Yes, High Dragon,” said Kali with a brief bow. That shocked Weiss thoroughly; she had a feeling before now that Kali was a relatively unimportant member, only tasked with cooking for them. Was she really some kind of lieutenant?

“Then all is set. I will repair to the shade. Cinder, if you please?”

The serious-faced girl bowed to her. Once she turned her back to approach the corner of the parking lot, she did flash Yang and Kali an inscrutable look, but that was all the hesitation she indulged in before following her master.

“I almost wished you didn’t make it,” Yang sighed in a shaky voice. “But… it would probably be worse if you didn’t.”

“I’m glad I got the message! Have you guys known about this and you didn’t tell me?”

Glancing over at the men at the other end of the lot, Kali answered, “It happened late last night. Salem met with their president in a one-on-one meeting that most of us thought was a bad idea. We were right; she insulted him and he insulted her back, and they left unhappy.”

“Wasn’t pretty,” put in a Dragon that Weiss didn’t know, other than by sight from Shopkeeper’s. She was an older Negro woman with a soft afro and multiple gold earrings, though the red  _ bindi _ in the middle of her forehead suggested she might also be Indian. Her uncertainty made the sheltered girl wish she’d had more contact with other cultures in her short life. “I wasn’t supposed to do anything other than drive her to and from the meeting, but I had to fight off one of Watts’s boys to keep him from getting to the High Dragon.”

“I should have been there,” Yang growled under her breath. “This is my job, isn’t it?”

“Only if asked, honey,” Kali soothed her. “Don’t worry, Sienna had it under control. That’s what she’s there for: to step in if the High Dragon can’t fulfill her duties.”

“That’s  _ your _ job,” Sienna countered with a slight smirk. Which Kali returned. “Isn’t it, Duchess?”

“My job is to feed hungry, growing girls.”

“I’ll  _ bet _ you like them hungry,” she accused with a slight chuckle as she turned away from the conversation, and Kali only rolled her eyes before moving off to check on Blake.

That left Weiss with her girlfriend. While it was nice to be able to see her during the weekend, since she had expected to be waiting until Monday, these were less than ideal circumstances.

“Hey.”

“Shut up,” Weiss whispered as she wrapped her in her arms. Even though she still felt a thrill of dread every time she did that with her in public, she knew this was one of the few places where it was safe. Where though there might be a few jeers or catcalls, they were in good humour.

“God, I miss you when you’re not around,” Yang sighed into her hair, hands tightening against the back of her jacket. “Sweet little Schnee.”

“You don’t know I’m sweet yet. But I know you’re tangy.”

A little laugh blasted out of her as she pushed her back, grinning wide. “And I used to think you were a princess. The mouth on you!” They both giggled. “Oh… okay, so. I never got around to sparring with you, and now that feels like a big mistake. Really wish I taught you a few moves.”

“Blake already warned me,” she hurried to assure her. “I’ll keep my head down and try to defend myself, stay out of everyone’s way. But isn’t there some way we can… I don’t know,  _ not _ fight?”

“Afraid not, by this point. They’re all really set on kicking each other’s teeth in. Salem and old Watts don’t care, since they’re both jerks and they’re not even gonna be in the rumble themselves. So this is the only way they can decide once and for all who gets Junior’s.”

“That’s what this is over? Junior’s? I thought that was neutral territory.”

“Yeah! When we’ve all been fine with sharing it before! I thought the talks were going fine, and then just… I don’t know, they really get under each other’s skin so easy.”

Weiss leaned her head against Yang’s chest, listening to her rapid breathing. “This all seems ridiculous. They’re acting like children.” When Yang didn’t answer right away, she whispered, “Can you try? For me? Just ask if there’s any other alternative to fighting. If they still say ‘no’, then… well, I guess we’ll resort to fisticuffs.”

“You sound like you’re from the turn of the century,” she laughed, petting over Weiss’s hair. “But… yeah. I mean, I kinda wanna bash their stupid faces in, but I also don’t want you in danger. So I’ll ask.”

“Thanks,” she breathed, before leaning up on tiptoes to kiss Yang’s cheek. “Love you.”

This time, there was a chorus of “oooooooh” from a few of the younger Dragons, and also from a couple of young Huntsmen with sharper eyes. Weiss stuck out her tongue at them and they laughed. Then she was distracted by a small figure jogging up to them from the corner.

“Sorry!” Ilia gasped out weakly, bracing against her knees while she caught her breath. Her hair was in wild disarray, and she was sweating quite a bit. “I couldn’t… find my jacket, my… and then the bus wouldn’t… pick me up while I was wearing it, so I had to… hitch…”

“Whoa, breathe,” Yang told her, patting her on the shoulder. “You should have got in contact with one of us. This is cutting it way too close.”

“Salem knows you weren’t here before,” Weiss warned her. “I think you might want to be ready to apologise.”

Ilia looked stricken. “Oh… oh n-no, I didn’t… is… Blake upset?”

Even though it was difficult, Weiss didn’t roll her eyes. Yang exercised no such concern. “Pal, you need to cool off with that. Blake doesn’t care.”

“Yet,” Weiss added, hoping it would soften the blow. “And you’re certainly not going to help yourself by chasing after her  _ this _ desperately.”

At least her face was already flushed from running, so she had a ready excuse for the redness in her cheeks. “Oh… I… oh.”

“But hey, maybe you’ll impress her out there,” Yang put in, having figured out Weiss was trying to cheer her up and attempting to do the same. “Knock ‘em dead.”

“Not ‘dead’!” Weiss squeaked.

“Oh, right- uh… knock ‘em… alive?”

Ilia sighed, still wiping sweat off her forehead. “She doesn’t know I’m alive now, so it doesn’t matter if someone knocks me dead or if I do it to them. But… thanks, girls.” Then she paced off to lean against a telephone pole, slight chest still heaving.

“That’s gonna be a problem,” Yang grunted.

“What?” Weiss glanced between the two of them. “Ilia? She’s actually kind of sweet, in a… small puppy kind of way…”

“Not that. With Blake. She’s never been interested in her, and didn’t think she had what it takes to be a Dragon. And still doesn’t. I kind of agree, but I also don’t really have her chasing me around, so it doesn’t matter to me much either way. She got initiated so she’s one of us; that’s how I see it.”

“That sounds right to me, too. Do you think it's just that Blake isn’t interested in her making her act so dismissive of her?”

Yang shrugged. Then after a heartbeat, she added, “You like her, don’t ya?”

“I do. Like I said, she’s sweet, and I think a genuinely good person under all that hero worship.”

“Hmm.”

But that was all the chance they had to chat about it. The minute she saw a burly man walking toward the middle of the lot, Yang gestured to Kali, and they both began to walk forward together. Weiss couldn’t see their equivalent of a “Duchess” walking with the big man, but he could have been in his shadow very easily and he would be practically invisible.

“I hate this part,” Blake confessed as she and Coco walked over.

“What?”

“The waiting. Not knowing what they’re saying, and just… hoping it goes alright. And I hate seeing my mom out there.”

“I know,” Weiss said with an eyeroll. “You don’t like having to watch her hang out with us.”

“What?” Blake seemed genuinely surprised by that comment. “No, it’s not that. I just… she’s in danger out there. Both she and Yang are, but Yang’s tough; a brawler. Mom can scrap pretty well, but she’s not a  _ tank _ the way the Dragon is.”

A thrill of dread shot up her spine. “Are you… saying that they might be in danger right now?” When Blake nodded, she took a step forward, but Coco instinctively threw up an arm to stop her.

“Calm down, Schnee. It’s fine.”

“But you just said-”

“We’re all in danger,” Blake went on for her as Coco lowered her arm. “Just by being here. The cops could bust this up and we’d all be cooling our heels in the slammer for weeks.”

Only then did the true danger begin to press in on Weiss. All the baseball bats, lead pipes, car antennae and bicycle chains were enough to ensure there would be blood. If the police showed up, they would probably have no qualms about shooting into the fray to break up the fight. They always seemed to be carefree with human life when it came to people they deemed as "thugs". She had been focusing so much on her duty to the Dragons, and to Yang, that she had suppressed all deeper worries about how terrible this rumble could be - partly thanks to the assurances that there were rarely fatalities. But “rarely” wasn’t the same thing as “never”. Had she stood idly by while Yang walked to her death?

Apparently not. After a few more gestures - some from Kali that were a bit more irate than Weiss would have expected - Yang and the man stepped back enough to let Kali cup her hands around her mouth and announce, “The warlords have reached a compromise!”

There were a few outcries, and a “What?!” from Cinder.

“There will be no rumble tonight! Instead, we’re going for pinks! There will be a brief recess of ten minutes to choose jockeys!”

That didn’t quite have the effect Weiss had been expecting, which was “relief”. Instead, there was a lot of muttering and worried glances, groups breaking into smaller clusters to mutter amongst themselves.

“What’s the matter?” Weiss whispered to Blake, whose face was a mask of misery.

“Racing for pinks. If we lose, their winner gets their bike. But… it’s worse than that.” Glancing over there and back to Weiss, she went on in a hushed tone, “The street race will be out in Mountain Glenn. Somebody might not make it home.”


	18. Chapter 18

**=Chapter 18**

“I tried to stop her,” Kali Belladonna snarled at her steering wheel as she drove them outside the Vale city limits. “But she had it locked into her head that this was the only way to resolve the conflict. Didn't want to hear a single thing I had to say!”

As the car went screaming around another corner, Weiss gripped the dashboard with both hands, heart pounding in her throat. She could never remember seeing Blake’s mother in a state like this! Moreover, she was trapped in the car and had no way out other than to hopefully calm her companion. “Please, what's going on? It sounds like a much more sensible solution to me!”

Her amber eyes barely flicked over in Weiss's direction, mostly staying focused on the road. “Oh, yes. Very sensible and safe for everyone involved - other than the two racers! And Hazel, that old coward… always hated fighting, needless bloodshed, and of _course_ this solution would thrill him to death. He literally sighed with relief when Yang suggested it.”

“But it's just a race,” she insisted. “You make it sound as if they're risking life and limb. I know motorcycle accidents happen, but is that really so much worse than getting into an actual fight? Some of those boys had lead pipes! One of our Dragons had a _chain_ \- that was scary!”

“Weiss…” With a long sigh, Kali began steering the car around the bend toward the abandoned area in question. “What do you know about Mountain Glenn? Besides that it's close to Vale and no one lives there anymore.”

At least Kali didn't think she was that uninformed. “Well… that the Depression came, and everyone gave up on expanding the city for a while. A lot of potential homes and businesses that were being started are just empty husks now. My father thinks it’s a waste. Why?”

“That's not the whole story.” A motorcycle roaring past them made Kali pause before she continued. “The Mountain Glenn project was abandoned due to the instability of the old mines underneath. The copper veins dried up many decades ago when Merlot Industries plundered it all, but the tunnels are still down there, spiderwebbing under what was once known as Glenn Bluffs. There was a proposal on the table for reinforcing those tunnels with steel beams, trying to salvage their plans to help Vale grow and prosper, but as you say, the Great Depression put a damper on everyone's enthusiasm for the project. There was no strong evidence that building support structures would have made enough of a difference, anyway.”

“Ohhhh,” she breathed, thinking about how frightening it would be for her house to suddenly collapse into the ground. “Well… yes, that really is unfortunate. But I don't understand. What does this have to do with the race?”

“There’s a reason it’s off-limits. Even though a few teenagers occasionally sneak up there to make out with their beaus, it’s unwise. The ground isn’t stable. Especially not for a hundred-something pound girl on top of a six-hundred-pound Harley. Times that by two, and it might just be enough to… well…”

As Kali made a thumbs down gesture very briefly before returning the hand to the wheel, Weiss gulped. That certainly didn’t sound like a “safe alternative” anymore.

Apparently, there was a method to this inter-gang madness. Kali parked on top of a higher bluff amidst quite a few other cars and bikes, one which overlooked the skeleton that was Mountain Glenn. A handful of buildings had begun construction, but the rest were mere concrete foundations. The main road itself was fully built, winding around a fountain that was never finished in the center of the proposed sister city.

At the far end of said road were six bikes. She knew Blake would be down there with Yang, and probably Cinder. Even from that far away, she could see the Huntsman at the “starting line” had blue hair; so it was _that_ boy she would be racing. The other two weren’t recognisable from that distance.

“We can watch everything from up here,” Kali whispered as she grasped Weiss by the waist and easily lifted her up onto the hood of the car. She felt a slight flutter from the thoughtful assistance but tried not to think about it too much.

“I wish I could go down there with her.”

“I know. But if you did, you would only watch the beginning of the race; by the end, Yang would be around some corner and you’d never see her victory.” Her hand flipped in the general direction of where two other bikes were idling; the finish line. “So you see, this is the best seat in the house.”

“Everybody seems to agree with you,” she sighed uncomfortably, glancing around at the dozens and dozens of other gang members gathered there. A small gap separated the two factions, but they were all contented to watch how things played out; no one was threatening to breach the temporary truce. “Maybe there really is honour among thieves.”

“Hmm?” Following her eyes, she smiled a little. “Oh, that. I’ve told you before, Vale is a small town; we can’t afford to tear each other apart over nothing. The rumble was a last resort, and you see that we jumped at the chance not to go through with it.”

Around that time, Emerald wandered over to their seat and leaned against the car on her elbows. “Stepping around on Yang already, huh, Schnee?”

“Jealous, Sustrai?” Kali answered without missing a single beat. Weiss didn't even have time to fully process the question and its implications before Blake's mother was answering. How was her mind that quick?

“Hardly. Well… you _are_ a lovely woman, but I have my hands full.”

“Do you think Yang can do this?” Weiss asked nervously, fingering the zipper of her jacket to give her hands something to do. “I mean… yes, of course she’s a skilled rider, but that doesn’t mean she’s better than her opponent.”

The green-haired girl shrugged a caramel-hued shoulder. Where was _her_ jacket? “If anybody can, it’s Yang. She and Cinder are probably the best of us. Of the ones who are still around, anyway.”

“Still around?”

“Raven,” Kali sighed wearily. “Yang learned from the best. Well… the best at riding motorcycles.”

So many questions blossomed in Weiss’s brain, but she heard the bikes revving and no longer had time to contemplate what exactly had transpired between Blake and Yang’s mothers. Even if she was starting to suspect one hypothesis over others.

Velvet was pacing out in front of the starting line. As the only non-Dragon who had come along for the ride, she was tasked with signalling for the others to start. Her arm raised high in the air, with something white gripped in it - probably a handkerchief, even though they were too far away for Weiss to make it out. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, leaning in closer to squint. She noticed Salem and the leader of the Huntsman - Watts, she thought his name had been - had telescopes.

Then the white thing dropped, and two bikes took off from the starting line.

“YEAH!” Emerald burst out immediately. “Wipe the floor with him!”

“Send her back to the kitchen!” laughed one of the Huntsmen.

“Well!” Weiss said under her breath, offended at the implication that housework was all that women were good for. Even if she knew _most_ women spent all their lives cooking and cleaning, not _all_ of them did.

But their commentary was not important. The two bikes were tearing down the street at breakneck speed. Yang seemed to be at the top of her game, weaving only when necessary - other than one time when she dipped a little too close to her opponent, hoping to throw him off. The boy paid no mind, only barely strafing out of the way and then correcting. They both focused on running a clean race, gunning for the finish line as fast as possible.

The fountain presented the first significant challenge. The two went different ways, favouring the side that they were already on, and looked as if they might collide once rounding the concrete basin - Weiss held her breath again - but they corrected and continued toward the finish line…

And then both swerved to the left.

“What?” Weiss breathed. “What are they doing?!”

“The race isn’t over. See those markers?” Kali pointed to three red cones that had been placed in that intersection. The first was near the center, and the next two led in the direction they had turned. “That’s the course. Have to make it interesting. Idiots.”

“Hey, I think it’s exciting,” Emerald protested with a frown.

“Of course you do. It’s not _Cinder_ risking her life and limb.”

That seemed to silence the other girl. Which confirmed something Weiss had been relatively certain of: Emerald had a thing for the alternately gruff and oily Dragon. Admittedly, Cinder did hold a certain appeal; she was confident, passionate, and loyal to a fault. Never mind how attractive, though most of the Dragons were in one way or another. Even the older, “rougher” ones who were so masculine they were almost _handsome_ instead of beautiful. And Weiss was beginning to realise that was alright.

Meanwhile, the two racers both rounded a couple of turns in quick succession. The boy had nearly lost control during the second one but caught himself just in time. Now they were racing along the edge of town, which wasn’t exactly _right_ at the dropoff but was a little close for Weiss’s comfort level. Also…

A lamppost began to sink. At first, she thought she was imagining it and was annoyed with her mind for trying to distract her from the race itself, but looking again, she was right; it was sinking!

“Look!” she hissed, gesturing to the phenomenon.

“Oh…” Kali sat up a little straighter. “Damn. I really hoped I was wrong about-”

Gulping, she fell silent as an extra roar of engines went up, her attention forcibly returned to the race. Weiss saw they were weaving around trees and brush that had sprung up over the past years since the area had been abandoned and left to Mother Nature. Now, every swerve made Weiss’s pulse seem louder in her ears, every second brought a new sweatdrop to her brow. Were they going to be alright? Even if she cared about Yang more, she didn’t wish any harm on the boy, either.

They raced around another corner. This stretch was a little more straightforward, but she still found herself biting her fingers to keep from crying out.

“YES!” one of the Huntsmen shouted, seeing that the boy was ahead by a nose. But he was on the outside right; the next curve was to the left and it would cost him a few precious fractions of a second. Weiss hopped up from the car, trying to rush toward the edge of the bluff before Kali caught her by the forearm.

“Hey!”

“Don’t!” was all she breathed. It may have saved Weiss’s life; a few of the rocks crumbled from the very edge. Perhaps she would have been safe, and perhaps not; she found it hard to care when Yang was in peril.

The finish line approached. The two drifted in and out of the lead, but it looked like Yang might really have a shot-

The ground gave way. It was unlike anything Weiss had ever seen, and much worse than the lamppost because it was so much closer - and because Yang and the boy were driving on the section in question. This had two very different effects on the two racers. The Huntsman’s bike shot out from under him and he went cartwheeling back into the opening sinkhole. Yang didn’t get caught in the hole itself, but the shaking completely ruined her ability to stay upright - she began to skid across the pavement, and then rolled once separated from her vehicle, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop.

“_NO!!!”_

Weiss’s shriek echoed off the bluffs, and there was another slight rumble. Nothing more happened; this one was too high, too far removed from the worst of the mining to truly impact its stability. But she didn’t care. Immediately, she began to race toward the dirt road, but Kali caught her around the middle and held her fast.

“Let me go! I need to-”

“I can drive us!” Kali tried to explain. “Weiss, stop struggling, you’re not-”

“I need to GO!”

“We will go together!” Finally, she calmed down enough to take in the words, and she went slack, gaping down at where the others who had been parked at the finish line began to race toward their respective gang members. “Good… alright, good. Get in.”

“No, I’ll drive you,” Emerald told her, face deadly serious as she shrugged back into her jacket and straddled her bike. “Get her there faster. Kali, can you follow?”

The older woman nodded, pushing Weiss toward the bike to help her start moving again. In seconds, they were astride Emerald’s Harley and racing down the dirt trail toward Mountain Glenn, terror gripping her throat all the while. This was awful. Now she understood why Blake’s mother was so against this solution to their petty squabbles over territory; it might only have been two people risking their safety, but each life was precious.

_Yang’s_ was precious. And now…

No one parked as close as they would have before this incident. They didn't want to risk adding to the danger. Once they were relatively close, they began to race toward the crater on foot as fast as they could, Huntsmen and Dragons alike. Luckily, Weiss had some athletic tone or she might have been further back; as it was, she kept pace with some of the younger boys, though they went past Yang toward the hole.

“YANG!” she screamed as tears rolled down her face, crouching over her bruised, bloodied figure. Luckily, she looked whole, but the awful angle at which her right arm was twisted made her feel sick. But that had to wait. “Speak to me! Yang, wake up, wake _up!”_

By that point, Coco and one of the older Dragons had joined them. The former rolled her until she was straightened out, and the latter patted her cheek, eliciting no response. “Out cold,” she reported.

“We need to get her to a hospital,” Coco breathed, putting her wrist under Yang's nose. “She’s breathing, but she could have a concussion.”

“No hospitals.” Salem had arrived, and was crouching over her from afar - assessing the situation without interfering. “Watts can take a look at her.”

After a moment, the man in question turned to glare at them. “Are you seriously expecting me to deign to stitch up one of _your_ pet bitches? After this stunt you pulled? Obviously, you knew the ground was unstable along the route and rigged this stretch to collapse - because, as anyone could tell, your racer did actually cross the finish line, while ours did not.”

Salem’s eyes narrowed, and the air seemed to drop in temperature within the bluffs. “Her life may hang in the balance, you old fool. Stop grandstanding and get your kit. Or have you been _lying_ about your medical degree all this time?”

Abandoning all hope of them resolving things between them, especially with the way Watts was folding his arms over the lapels of his expensive grey suit, Weiss shot to her feet and begged him, “Please! Sh-she might not make it! I don’t care about… about any of this! Just save her!”

“Really?” he snapped immediately, cold green eyes stabbing down into her soul. “So I should abandon my own boy to save your girl? You really don’t understand loyalty - _family._ Do you?”

Weiss spared a glance at the hole where they were trying to figure out how to descend, to search for their man. Already, the blonde she had observed him with before was tugging at his hair, tears streaming down his cheeks while some of the others readied a rope, trying to figure out what they might tie it to.

“I’ll go.”

It was Salem who snapped, “What? Go where?”

“I’ll go down there and look for him.” Her shaking finger pointed at the tall man. “If you help Yang, I… I’ll save… the boy who’s down there.”

He was not impressed. “His name is Neptune. As if you care. What good are you to me at all, what can you do that my boys can’t?”

“I’m smaller,” she offered, already stripping off her jacket. “Most of your boys are tall and bulky, and would get stuck in a tight space. And I’m stronger than I look. Please, I can’t- we don’t have time! Just let me do this!”

“Weiss,” Kali whispered, laying a hand on her arm. “This isn’t sound. You’re going to get yourself killed, and when Yang wakes up, that will be the worst news to wake up to.”

“I don’t CARE!” she shouted, shoving her away. There wasn’t time for rational thought. “Just let me save Yang by saving Neptune!”

No one objected further. Her eyes retained a fleeting image of Kali looking completely stricken before she raced over to the edge of the sinkhole, only slowing down when she got near. The blonde boy was still losing his mind, so she addressed his friend with the long red hair hanging into his eyes.

“What do I do?”

“Well, I dunno,” he said in a heavy English accent. Though he wasn’t quite so emotional, he was certainly not left unaffected by his associate’s plight; his voice shook slightly as he continually wiped his hands on his white jeans over and over. “Just… do somethin’, willya?”

“Here,” said another Huntsman with green hair, handing her one end of a rope. With some help, they both fashioned a loop that could work as a harness, and several more men lined up to anchor her at the top. Everyone else remained ringed around the hole, gazing down and hoping to be the first to figure out a better plan.

“Hey, Schnee!”

Glancing up just in time, Weiss caught the gleaming Zippo lighter being hurled at her, the metal stinging her palms. Cinder merely flashed her a fierce look before continuing past the rest of the crowd on her bike toward the ring of Dragons trying to help Yang - giving the sinkhole a wide berth.

“Ready, then?” asked the Brit. Nodding at him and the others, she stepped into the loop and allowed herself to be lowered down.

Luckily, the hole wasn’t deep; it merely looked that way due to shadows. When most of the light from above was blotted out, she flicked the Zippo to life, just barely able to catch what was rising to meet her from below. Once she touched down next to a groaning form, she could breathe a brief sigh of relief.

“You alright down there?” called an unfamiliar voice.

“YES!” she shouted back. “I’m at the bottom! Hold on!”

Weiss didn’t know the first thing about treating an injury victim. Sure, she could feel for a pulse, but that was fairly basic stuff; did he have broken bones? Internal bleeding? She had no way of knowing. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for her to come down there. Coco would have been a better choice, but she was probably still busy tending Yang.

The boy coughed, and she moved to his side, supporting the head and wiping some of the dust from his face. “Hey! I… are you alright? Speak to me!”

“What… oh… are you an angel?”

“Ugh,” she scoffed as she tried to help him up. “Hurry up, we need to get out of here!”

Coughing again, he sat up and clutched his ribs. “Oh my God… everything hurts…” Little by little, she got him crawling toward the rope. “What… what happened?”

“You fell in a hole, goofus. What’s your name?”

“Neptune.”

“Neptune.” That was right; they had said. But it was probably helpful for him to have something else to focus on. “I’m Weiss. And I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Why? You’re… a Dragon…”

“Yang was hurt,” she admitted, voice cracking. “And I… and we needed your Dr. Watts to fix her up, or… or she might-” Her voice cut off and she had to stop for a brief moment to recover. Then she cleared her throat. “So you have to help me by g-getting out of here. Then everyone will be alright. Alright?”

“Alright,” he echoed with a groan as they came to a stop by the rope. “But… I don’t think I can… climb…”

For a moment, Weiss tried to think of how to best secure him. She didn’t know that much about knots, or harnesses. “Why didn’t I take that nautical class at the yacht club?!” she swore at herself.

“Oh… I know… something about that… this loop sucks, though.”

“What?”

Sitting up, he reached for the rope. “Here, let m- whoa, I’m dizzy…”

“What’s going on down there?!” called a voice from above. It wasn’t the British man, so she couldn’t be sure who.

“HANG ON!” she shouted back up, and Neptune flinched, covering his ears for a moment. “Oh, sorry!”

“It’s fine. Here… I’ll show you. This is a bowline knot, and it’s going to be our best friend…”

It actually didn’t take long for him to tie his own harness. Weiss felt highly useless, but she was glad things were working out reasonably well. Before long, a mess of square knots and fisherman’s knots had him wearing what looked like some kind of clandestine rope-lingerie around his pelvis. By this point, he looked exhausted, so she leaned him back against a craggy wall.

“Shh, just rest a moment.” When his breathing evened out, she tried to wipe more sweat and dirt off his face. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

After a moment, he flashed her a weary smile. “I’d… ask if you wanted to get a malted after this, but… I don’t think Sun would appreciate that…”

“Sun? Is that your blonde friend I saw you kissing before?” When he gulped, clearly discomfited that she knew, she waved a hand back and forth. “Please. You do know I’m in the _Dragons,_ right?”

“Oh… so it’s true? Most of you are…”

Eyes narrowing, she said, “Yes, most of us. Why? Are most of the Hunters that way?”

“Not as much as the Dragons. But a few of us.” He tried to sit up a little higher and grunted in sharp pain; Weiss settled him again. “Are you… going with one of them?”

“Yeah.”

“Yang?” When Weiss didn’t answer right away, he nodded. “Now I… get why you jumped down here.”

“I would have, anyway,” she swore vehemently, even while he was chuckling weakly. “Seriously! I don’t want to see _anyone_ get hurt! Don’t be such a pest!”

Neptune tried to keep chuckling, but it turned into a coughing fit. Though she did privately think he deserved it, she still petted along his upper arm until he was able to breathe freely again. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just… hold on until we can get you out of here.”

Weiss tugged on the rope and they began to hoist him up. One of her hands helped push his boot up to take some of the strain off the men at the top, but then he was out of her reach.

And she was alone in the darkness with only a flickering light for company. For a few minutes, she began to worry she would simply die down there. It was a possibility. After all, the only Dragons she found herself _truly_ trusting were Yang, Blake, and Kali, and one of them was unconscious the last time she checked. They were vastly outnumbered. And the Huntsmen had no reason to really keep her alive now that she had finished the job they cared about…

“Hello?” she called up nervously. “Is anybody up thBFF!”

She felt pretty silly for panicking when the pre-tied harness hit her in the mouth.

Once at the top, she saw that both Neptune and Yang were gone. She felt a momentary flare of panic as the other Huntsmen made sure her footing was secure before turning her loose, but Kali was already approaching. That set her at ease that maybe not _everything_ was lost.

“She’s going to be alright. I’ll take you to where they’ll be patching her and the Vasilias boy up.”

“Okay,” she breathed, dazed. “Let’s… let’s go.”

Even as they walked away from the site of the sinkhole, she could hear a few more broken bits of concrete coming loose and toppling into the abyss. Weiss looked back in time to see the men backing away from its confines. Sun was already missing - as was Blake. Along for the ride with those who meant the most to them.

Fresh regret welled up in Weiss at having taken away the one person Blake probably wanted to be with more than anything in the world. Maybe, if she survived her injuries and treatment, they could do something about that.


	19. Chapter 19

**=Chapter 19**

The apartment above the gentleman's clothing store was comfortable enough from an objective standpoint. Homey. However, Weiss was never going to be comfortable there. Even after this ordeal was over, it would always remind her of having to watch as her girlfriend suffered. She hoped she never had to see the threadbare old oriental rug, the crystal chandelier, the upright honky tonk piano in the corner, ever again.

“She's going to be fine,” Blake reassured her, even though she still looked nearly as shaken as she had in Mountain Glenn. “They said the arm was just dislocated. Popped right back into the socket. She'll have to go easy on it for a little while, let those muscles heal that were stretched and torn, but it's better than a break.”

“Mmmm.”

“Come on, speak up,” she half-snorted. “It's not like you to be this quiet.”

“I'm just… worried.” Drawing her knees up into the old armchair with its paisley upholstery, she glanced over at the other Dragon in her matching seat. “I thought no one would get hurt this way, and…”

The girl's amber eyes focused on the rug. “Life's hard sometimes. But… I kinda know what you mean. Now I feel stupid for thinking this way, but I always believed Yang was invincible. So strong and brave, and kind, and larger than life…”

“Yeah! And here we are waiting for her to recover from just falling off her motorcycle. It sounds ridiculous, but it isn't.”

“I have to admit, I really didn't understand why my mother was so upset about this when I heard the announcement. But now, I get it.”

The two girls lapsed into silence for a time, gazing at the rug and trying to sort through their own emotions. Weiss mostly felt relief, but the entire incident had shaken her on a deep level in much the same way it had Blake. Was that going to be the rest of her life now? Continually finding herself and perilous situations, fighting for her life? It boggled her poor, sheltered mind. But deeper down… she knew she would do it all again for Yang. In a heartbeat.

Their silent vigil was only interrupted when Watts came in from the bedroom door, still ringing his hands in a towel. Salem stood and approached him immediately. Weiss was a little surprised that she hadn't taken off that cloak of hers in all that time waiting, but she had more important concerns at the moment.

“It's going to be fine,” he told them in an inpatient voice. “I've set her arm and bandaged her other wounds. There's going to be a lot of bruising but as far as I can tell, no internal bleeding or other fractures. If she starts experiencing any other symptoms, bring her straight back and we'll re-evaluate when the time comes.”

The High Dragon bowed her hooded head. “It seems we owe you a debt.”

“You don't.” His shrewd eyes slid over to Weiss and softened very slightly. “The debt has been paid in advance. And speaking of which, if you'll excuse me…”

“Wait,” Weiss protested before he could leave. “Can I- well, what I mean is, can _we_ see her?”

Almost as if against his better judgement, he flashed her a tight smile. “She'll be out in a moment.” Then he did vanish into the confines of his “examination room”.

“I’m going to take my leave,” Salem said, and almost immediately, Sienna was up and opening the door for her. “I trust you and the Duchess to ensure she makes it home safely?”

“Of course, High Dragon,” Kali said with a slight bow of her head. “Don’t worry.”

“I never do with you around.” Then she smirked at Weiss. “And maybe the same goes for you. Take care of my apprentice.”

Once the woman and her driver had left, Weiss gulped and approached Blake’s mother. “What is that supposed to mean? Should I be worried?”

“No, it’s a good sign. She sees how much of your heart is focused on her warlord - how loyal you are. Of course, she may try to exploit that in the future, but… for now, it keeps you from being mistrusted.” Kali looked very slightly apologetic about casting the situation in that light, but was smiling all the same.

“Oh. Well… I appreciate you being honest with me.”

“Anytime, sweetie.” Then she craned her head. “Blake? Would you mind going in and seeing what’s taking Yang so long?”

Blake only had time to stand before the door opened on its own. Yang looked battered and worn down, but she was in decent spirits; she smiled the instant she saw Weiss, for instance. The smile was a little lopsided due to a puffy bruise on her cheek, and the bandages around her head made her hair look quite odd, indeed. Still, she was whole, and awake, and alive.

“Anybody get the license plate of that Mack truck that ran me down?”

Weiss flew to her side and slid her arms as gently around her love's middle as she could manage. All her heart wanted to squeeze, but her mind knew that would cause more agony than comfort.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered earnestly. “You… this was supposed to be safer!”

“It was safer for you,” she chuckled in a raspy voice. “‘Cept you wound up jumping down a hole anyway. Are you crazy?”

“Crazy for you.”

The simple line got Yang melting like a stick of butter in a bonfire. She pressed a kiss into Weiss's head through her hair. “Thanks. Still don't think you should have done it, but… thank you.”

“Let's go before Watts decides you need to pay for his services, after all,” Kali said with a slight smile.

“Right. Lead the way, Mrs. B.”

* * *

Given that Yang's Harley was now being repaired by whomever Salem used for such things, Kali offered to drive Yang home in her car. She and Weiss took the back seat. Blake went straight home on her motorcycle, though it was quite obvious that she wanted to tag along and help.

“Oh boy,” Weiss muttered nervously as they pulled up in front of Raven's house. “Here we go again…”

“Here we go? What do you mean? Oh, right - I think you did mention before that she threatened you with gunfire the last time you stopped by.” Kali paused their conversation to get out and open the rear door on Yang's side of the car. “Can you push while I pull?”

“I'm not a sack of potatoes,” Yang protested, even as the two were doing as Kali had suggested.

“Don't worry about Raven. I know how to handle her. And I promise, I won't let anything bad happen to you, Weiss.”

Sighing as she got out of the car herself and took up Yang's hand, she whispered, “Thank you. I just hope you're right.”

This time, the first knock at the door was actually answered. A minute or so later, it was yanked open to reveal the pale, evil-eyed woman who had last threatened Weiss with a mortal wound if she didn't vacate the premises immediately. She was dressed in overalls and a long-sleeved red shirt, one of the overall straps unbuttoned and dangling down toward her waist.

“What?”

“Now now, Raven, is that any way to greet an old friend?” Kali was trying for a cheerful tone, but it came across almost business-like.

“If I see one, I'll greet them differently.”

“Droll.” Her head nodded sideways toward Yang, who was curiously silent and staring down at the ratty old welcome mat beneath her boots. “Your daughter got a little banged up today. I would think she would have called you to let you know about it, but then again, you don't seem to know how to pick up the phone.”

Even while the murderous red pools were narrowing at Kali, Yang spoke up in a very subdued voice. “Thanks for the lift, girls. I can take it from here.”

“Oh?” Weiss said. “But I thought we… could…”

Just that one sentence fragment was enough to get Raven's attention on her. “Didn't I warn you never to come back here?”

“Raven Branwen,” Kali snapped. “You're even more of a bitch than the last time we spoke.”

“Yes, I am.” She strode forward until their noses and chests were nearly touching. “I'll shoot you too if you don't clear out of here.”

“Enough. We care about Yang more than you do, by the looks of it. And you're really going to turn us out of your home? Before we've even had the chance to come in?”

“She's already been in once,” she hissed sharply, and Weiss felt her cheeks bloom with redness.

“She was doing _your_ job! Making sure your daughter was okay! Or don't you care about that anymore?”

Hackles raised end hands curling into fists, Raven took another step forward until their noses actually were touching now. “Get out.”

“That isn't going to work on me like it does on unsuspecting childre-”

Everything happened so fast that Weiss couldn't follow all of the movements with her eyes. One moment, the two women were staring each other down - the next, Raven was holding Kali up against the wall, face grinding into the door frame and arm pulled up into the middle of her back. Both a gun and a dagger were lying on the porch between their four feet.

“Ah!” Kali gasped in pain.

“You knew you weren't welcome here,” Raven snarled, sounding almost deadly calm if not for the clear pulse of anger in every other word. “Thought I made that crystal clear. If you ever come back again, I won't be so ni-”

But Kali wasn't quite finished. The heel of her shoe came down hard on Raven's toes, which were only protected by mere stockings at the moment. As she howled with pain, Kali whirled, gripped the lapels of her grimy overalls and tossed her through the open door into the living room.

“_RAVEN!”_ Yang gasped, sprinting inside to crouch over her mother's form. Kali calmly picked up the two weapons and slipped them into her clothes - Weiss couldn't tell how she did that, either, or where they wound up.

“You got a lotta nerve,” Raven snapped as she began to sit up - only for Kali's boot to push down into her stomach and keep her still. “Hey!”

“No, you've had your turn, you overgrown brat. Now you will listen.” Her eyes closed for a moment, and her finger and thumb pinched at the bridge of her nose. “This is somehow actually worse than the rumble we were supposed to have today…”

Raven's tone was now extremely put upon. “I don't care. Whatever it is you have to say to me, save it. I don't want to hear-”

“You have a beautiful, strong, caring, capable daughter who only wants to have fun with her friends and enjoy a few dates. Who tries to do the right thing when she can. And you couldn't care less. It's reprehensible. I know… that I smother my own daughter a little bit, embarrass her sometimes, but it's far better than letting her believe for even a _second_ that I don't love her. Maybe you are capable of doing that for Yang, or maybe you're not. But you could at least try pretending a little bit harder for her sake.”

“Why? What's the point?” Though she was shouting up at Kali, Weiss couldn't help noticing that her eyes never strayed toward Yang once during that conversation. As if by doing so, she could make believe she wasn't there. “Life is cruel, and the world is cold. It doesn't care what you want or who you love! You should know that better than anyone, right?”

Kali's face became a mask, almost as rigid and foreboding as the one Raven had worn the last time Weiss was in that living room. “That wasn't my fault. I couldn't change my entire plan for the future simply because your feelings got hurt!”

“What…?” Yang breathed in mild surprise, looking between the two of them.

“And I can't change my plan simply because you've decided you're somehow my mother now, _Belladonna_. I've made my life, and I've made my decisions, and I'm going to stick to them. The same way you did. So you can either get the hell out of my house and leave me alone, let me try to patch up my stupid daughter, or we can keep fighting about this. But I promise you those are our only two options in this situation. Keep coming back and rattling my cage, and I really will kill you.”

“You will not,” she sighed in annoyance, even while both Yang and Weiss were flinching from the threat. “Stop that. We both know you're a giant kitten and those threats aren't fooling anyone.”

“They're fooling me!” Weiss hissed.

“You don't know me as well as you think you do,” Raven said in a bored tone of voice. “Just stop embarrassing both of us and leave.”

The two women spent a good ten seconds glaring at each other from their different vantage points: Kali still standing on top of her, Raven still barely propped up on her elbows. The former's voice was a little softer when she said, “We _both_ made our choices, Raven. Just because you want to believe mine was so much worse doesn't mean I was the only one who chose wrong.”

“Fine. I'll give you that. Now go.”

“No.”

“Haven't you been listening? I said I'm going to kill you if you don't leave me the hell alone!”

“And I said that Young Schnee and I are going to help your daughter get set up in her room! _End of discussion!_ So you can either start warming up some chicken noodle soup for her, or you can lie there in the middle of the floor like a complete imbecile and prove to me what a waste of human skin you have become!”

For a long, highly tense moment, the two older women simply stared at each other as if doing so could make the other one burst into flames. Then Raven turned aside to glare at nothing. It seemed that she was conceding defeat. Without another word, Kali reached down to help Yang to her feet, and the three of them made their way down the hall.

“'Young Schnee'?”

“Shush,” Kali murmured, though she did smile very slightly. “Just trying to mention you so she knew it was a package deal and wouldn’t try to run you off. Again.”

“You guys shouldn’t be messing with her so much,” Yang whispered as they entered her room. Weiss wanted to stop and look around everywhere, to absorb the inner sanctum of the girl who meant so much to her, but she was pretty distracted by their circumstances. “She's kind of a dangerous woman. And not in the fun way.”

“Then maybe you shouldn't live with her,” Weiss said as they settled Yang on the bed. It was a pretty simple twin bed, the sheets a plain pale blue color.

“Where else am I going to go? Qrow and Ruby's? They hate me.” Weiss flinched, privately thinking Yang was at least wrong about Ruby, but there was no time to bring it up. “And your parents sure as hell don't want me around. Face it, I'm stuck with my square of a mom who sometimes points guns at my friends.”

Kali sighed as she began to pull off Yang's boots. It seemed she had shifted into Mom Mode without consciously meaning to do so. “She wasn't like this when we knew each other. Close, but not quite this… unpleasant.”

“Yeah. She, uh… never talks about you. Even when I bring you up in conversation.”

“Fabulous.”

Both the shortness of the answer and the deadpan tone with which Kali delivered it gave Weiss concern. But she decided there was something she needed to know a lot more urgently then she needed to console Blake's mother.

“What really happened between you two? And don't just say that she left the Dragons and that's the only reason you had a falling out. I can't believe that.”

“It’s a long story you wouldn’t enjoy,” she laughed. “Maybe I should start cleaning up in here; I can’t believe what a sty you let this become!”

Weiss’s hand clamped onto her arm before she could stand. “I don’t mind long stories. Do you, Yang?”

“Nope,” Yang said, though she looked less than enthused about hearing the rest of the tale. “Go for it.”

The woman was silent for a long few seconds, hazel eyes staring at the curtained window above Yang's battered old dresser. At first, Weiss started to think that she was never going to reply at all. It turned out she was simply choosing her words carefully before she began.

“Maybe we were never truly friends in the first place. At least, not in the way most girls are. But we were both Dragons, in a time when the Dragons was a very different gang. We used to have _men_, you know. Doesn't that sound crazy now?” She chuckled quietly, even while Weiss let out a quiet gasp of shock. “And we were always by each other's sides. Even though we had our respective boyfriends, I could tell that her interest in me was not strictly platonic. She always was a real bearcat. And sure, Boston Marriages existed back then, but as I said… the Dragons were very young, and hadn't established themselves as a safe place for ladies to love ladies quite yet. So she wound up with the Founder, and I with my big burly grizzly.”

“Wait, wait…” Weiss sat forward on the bed, her brow furrowing. “Was ‘the Founder’ some kind of nickname? Or was Yang’s father really one of the first Dragons?”

To her surprise, it was Yang who answered, “Nah. My dad was _the_ first Dragon. I mean, he and his friends at the time were, and Raven and Kali. The name of the gang is from our family name, Xiao Long. Didn't… I tell you that?”

“No!” she gasped, completely caught off guard. But at least Yang looked authentically surprised that the subject has never come up before. Then again, they didn’t spend a lot of time discussing her Chinese heritage.

“It's true,” Mrs. Belladonna went on, hands folded on her lap. “Really quite revolutionary for the time: before Taiyang made this new gang of his, women could only hope to be the girlfriends of gangsters. 'Molls’ as some would put it. He saw how strong Raven and I were, and a few other women, and thought there was no reason there shouldn't be a co-ed version of the Huntsmen. We could all watch each other’s backs, not just the men with us in supporting roles. I suppose it worked for a little while, but eventually, most of the men went back to their old organization. And the Dragons became the den of lesbian iniquity that it is today.”

Despite the wry tone with which the last line was spoken, Weiss felt like she had a lot more to think about. This whole time she had never once questioned how the Dragons began. Even being one of them now! But it actually made a lot of sense: most girls she knew had no interest in such activities, and would much rather go to the beauty parlor or split a malted at the diner. Prepare for motherhood and wifehood. Even the average “liberated” woman who had found a new sense of solitary purpose after joining the workforce during World War II didn't go quite so far as to assume that men were irrelevant.

That was unique to the Dragons, as far as she could tell. It was kind of a shame that the only place women were equal to men was organized crime.

“It happened gradually,” Kali went on, oblivious to Weiss's internal monologue. “Raven would make disparaging remarks about my Ghira, but never tolerate the same about her beau. I could tell she wanted to have both of us all to herself. And I don't think she even realized that's what she was doing; please don't think I'm trying to paint her as being manipulative, or a two-timer. But eventually, we both had enough of the constant arguments and she left the Dragons at the same time her husband did.

“They were never _really_ happy. We kept in touch for a little while after that, but around the time Taiyang ‘replaced’ her with Summer Rose, she pulled away. Stopped coming around Junior's, stopped answering my calls… my letters. Shut everyone out. I know she felt deeply betrayed by the two people she had cared about the most, even if it was an unreasonable feeling. Sometimes we just can't help how we feel. But knowing the reason why I lost my best friend didn't make it hurt less.”

By now, neither of the two girls had much to say. This was all new information to Weiss for sure, but Yang even seemed surprised by some details. As if she had known all the facts without ever being exposed to the emotional footnotes.

“Mrs. B… I'm sorry,” Yang breathed softly as she could, seeming to shrink in on herself as she leaned against the wall. “My mom is a real piece of work, alright, but I never knew… well, I'm real sorry.”

Kali's smile was still bittersweet as she stared at the dirty carpeting. “She's the parent, not you. So thanks, but the apology isn't necessary.”

“Well, I think this sounds ridiculous,” Weiss snapped, arms folding in front of her chest. “She should have… I don't know, talked to you? Tried to have a conversation in which you both understood each other a little better? It's completely unacceptable!”

“What would we have said that we didn’t already say? Raven was determined to see herself as the victim of two cold-hearted people who just…” In a rare moment without her shields up, Kali had to clear her throat to rid it of that trembling quality that signalled tears might come soon. “We wanted to love her in different ways than she wanted to be loved. Things were said that we might not ever be able to take back. But it’s all in the past. My only concern now is that Raven isn’t… isn’t taking out her frustrations with the world on her own daughter.”

There was a loud _clank_ from the doorway. They all turned to look, but though footsteps could be heard throughout the hallway, all they could see was a TV tray with a bowl of soup sitting on the floor. A little had sloshed onto the packet of saltines when she set it down hastily.

“Oh…” Kali covered her mouth with her hand, looking legitimately ashamed of herself. “Oh dear.”

Weiss picked up the tray and looked for Raven, but didn’t see her. Then she returned to the bed, gazing down at the soup. “Chicken noodle.” It was still hot, too, steam rising gently from the pale yellow liquid.

“This is my fault. I shouldn’t have been talking about her in her own home. I’m sorry, girls.”

While Yang was struggling with what to say, Weiss set the tray down. “I need to use the ladies’ room. Can one of you point the way?”

“Sure,” the current Dragon said numbly, her fingers just barely touching the handle of the spoon. She looked both fascinated by it and detached, as if not really sure that it was real. That _anything_ was real. “End of the hall, opposite the way you came in. Can’t, uh, can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.”

On her way back from the bathroom, Weiss felt a little nosy. All she could think about was Kali’s story, and Raven’s reaction to overhearing the bit she did. What was her home life _really_ like? It seemed to be as bad as Weiss’s - just in different ways. A little curiosity never seemed to hurt Nancy Drew…

The hallway closet only held linens and some assorted things like a seldom-used vacuum cleaner, some broken pieces of a chair. The master bedroom was even more spartan than Yang’s; at least Yang had a school pennant and a radio. This room literally had nothing but furniture, including an unmade bed. Her own mother had always told her that an unmade bed was the sign of madness… but then again, that had been before she went a little mad herself.

She was about to rejoin her fellow Dragons when she heard a brief crash of glass from the living room. Barely glancing into the room at where Kali was rubbing up and down Yang’s back, comforting her as they both faced away from the door, she continued on to investigate.

The first thing she noticed was a mess of broken glass below a wide stain of brown, just next to the TV. Some kind of liquor, by the smell of it. Then she saw Raven slumped in an armchair, eyes glaring at the stain as if daring it to speak out against her.

Then she noticed Weiss standing there and shot to her feet, wrapping her hand around her neck. This time, she was _sure_ she was about to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it shouldn't really be a spoiler that Weiss is going to survive; don't worry I won't do this fandom rotten like that. See you soon!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: VERY graphic spousal and child abuse, emotional and physical. Please be advised and don't walk into this chapter unless you're ready.

**=Chapter 20**

“You’ve got a lotta nerve coming back here after the way I ran you off.”

“Please!” Weiss pleaded in a hoarse whisper; it was the best she could manage. “D-don’t hurt me! Yang… I’m only here to-”

“I told you before, and I’ll tell you one last time: _I don’t care._ Yang’s business is Yang’s business. My house means I get to say who stays and who goes. And you go. Now.”

For a moment, she was completely ready to give into Raven’s demands. After all, who could argue with that logic? This was someone else’s home and she was trespassing if the owner didn’t want her there. On the other hand, she was always going to be on Yang’s side - _always,_ and it was far more important that she remain behind to show her support than to be cautious.

“I can’t,” she answered honestly.

“Can’t? Interesting word.” She leaned in closer, until Weiss could smell the hard liquor on her breath. See every pore on her noble nose. “You certainly can’t go if I kill you.”

“Can… you stop choking me so we can… talk like civilized people?”

Raven blinked in mild surprise. “What?”

“I just… think it’s easier… for me to talk without your hand… there.” Her own drifted up to tap the back of Raven’s. Her words sounded stupid to her own ears, but it was the only thing she could think of; talking was so much harder with her air supply cut off, and her head starting to spin.

“Fine.” The hand relaxed slightly, but stayed where it was. “Give me one good reason not to put my fist through your face.”

Clearing her throat and swallowing hard - now that she could again - Weiss tried to scrape some words together in her dizzy brain. After a second or two, when she could sense Raven was getting a little impatient, she squeaked, “Yang!”

“What _about_ Yang? I told you, I don’t care who she sleeps with or hangs around with, as long as I don’t have to deal with any of it. You being here breaks that rule.”

“But… she’s hurt, and I… I just want to help take care of-”

“I can handle that.”

“You hurt her yourself.” Her face became more incensed, frown deepening and eyes flashing dangerously, so Weiss went on, “You did! I… I don’t know, maybe you didn’t mean to, okay? B-but I’ve seen the bruises! Just because of her grades! And Yang already has suffered enough bruises for one day, so if that’s how you want to ‘take care’ of her, th-then I think I have something else to offer! And that I should stay!”

This time, Raven did shake her and slam her back against the wall. “Idiot! That’s my little girl in there - you know _nothing!_ Do you understand me?! Who the hell are you, anyway? I’m trying to keep her from ruining her life! Or getting taken in by pretty faces like yours! If she gets her heart broken, her ribs broken, she can do it on her own damn time and in her own damn place! Not _my_ place!”

The terror was very real, but Weiss gulped and squeaked, “I don’t want to break anything! I just w-want to help!”

“You can help by never darkening my doorstep again!”

“_Raven.”_

Neither of them had heard Kali come in. Weiss was half-afraid she would be aiming a gun at the other mother, but she wasn’t; she simply had her hands on her hips and looked as if she were disciplining Blake instead of talking to an old friend in her own home.

“Don’t.”

“You know this isn’t right.”

“It’s right because it’s my house. Your opinions don’t matter.”

“She’s in high school!” Kali hissed back at her, eyes flashing dangerously. “And she’s really very sweet, and you’re manhandling her like she’s a home invader! When did you lose all remaining decency?”

The pure fury was increasing, even if it was no longer purely because of Weiss. “You don’t get a say anymore. The time when I had to listen to what you have to say, you telling me who to marry, what to do… that’s long gone. So I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

“Mrs. Xiao Long?” Weiss asked.

“Branwen,” she amended immediately - fiercely.

“Branwen! I… please, I’ll never come back after we get Yang set up, if you’ll… if you can help her rest and heal. I promise.”

The offer seemed to catch her off guard. “You’ll leave Yang alone?”

“I didn’t say that. I said I wouldn’t come back to your house.” When her eyes narrowed, she went on, “If I didn’t let my own father slapping me across the face stop me from seeing Yang, then what makes you think I’ll stop for you?”

Kali hissed “Weiss!” in a warning tone. But they were both interrupted by a gruff bark of a noise from Raven. At first she thought she was coughing, but when she focused on her it turned out she was laughing. Cruelly, darkly, but at least it was a laugh; it proved the woman was still capable of that.

“You really do have a lotta nerve.” Her head tilted to one side, as if trying to appraise Weiss from a new angle. “Old man smacked you to get you to stop dating trash, huh?”

“To get me to stop dating Yang,” she amended firmly. “Because he doesn’t know the Dragons.”

“And you do, huh?” Shaking her head, she finally let go of Weiss and turned to stride across the room. Her eyes were fixated down at the remnants of the bottle she had destroyed. “A couple of weeks on the wild side of Vale and you think you know something about the Dragons. Probably all of it wrong. But fine, fine. I’ll agree to your terms. Stay out of my house and you two can do whatever you want. It’s her business. That all you wanted?”

Weiss sighed. “It isn’t. I _would_ want to… try getting to know my girlfriend’s family. But if I can’t have that, I guess I’ll accept it.” She brushed down the front of her blouse, trying to unwrinkle the fabric and get rid of some of the dust from the mines. “I hope Yang enjoys her soup.”

Then she strode for the door. Kali moved as if to stop her, but the way she simply let her hand drop said she thought better of the idea. Raven made no such moves.

* * *

She had been walking for at least thirty minutes when the car caught up to her. The time didn’t seem to have any meaning. Maybe she was deluding herself. As far as she was concerned, Yang was more important to her than all the irate parents in Vale - as crazy as that still was to her. But there were quite a lot of odds stacked against them. Should she think about putting a stop to everything to keep them from destroying each other? Before talking to Raven, she wouldn’t have said so, but now she could no longer be absolutely certain anymore. That she loved Yang, yes. That they belonged together…

Maybe not. Maybe God, or the universe, or whatever decided the fates of mere mortals had decided they didn’t get to be happy. Not happy _together,_ at least.

“Weiss!” Kali shouted out the window. “Get in the car!”

The girl shrugged her leather-clad shoulders. “What’s the point? My parents hate me. Yang’s hate me, too. Salem probably just thinks I’m a pain in the behind, and asked you to follow me around to make sure I don’t mess anything up. Or if I do, that she’ll know about it. So what’s the difference if I just keep walking until I fall off Glenn Bluffs?”

The car pulled a little ahead and up to the curb. It gave Kali plenty of time to get out of the car and walk around to face her, waiting with hands on hips. When Weiss began to turn as if to head a different way, she tutted loudly.

“Just leave me alone!” she snapped angrily. “Why do you care if I mess up? I’m nobody to you! Just some spoiled rich girl who… who doesn’t… who has no idea what she…”

The arms around her startled her - she hadn’t even seen Kali move. But this time, she didn’t want to be comforted, didn’t want this strange woman behaving like the mother she wished she had. Her limbs pushed, she struggled, but Kali didn’t let go for anything.

“I’m not Blake,” she breathed harshly, voice tight. “You don’t have to nursemaid me.”

“Quiet now, Weiss. It’s okay. Nobody asked me to take a liking to you; I did that all on my own. I’m not going to abandon you.”

They were both silent for a few seconds. Weiss stopped struggling and whispered, “Stop being so nice. Just… go away. Let me go back to my world, and you can stay in yours, a-and… and Yang can find someone who isn’t so pathetic. And who can understand her, and who her mother won’t hate.”

Kali laughed. “We all have a long wait for that. Listen…” Stepping back, she held onto Weiss’s shoulders with both hands. “In this life, it’s foolish to let anyone else tell you what you want. Or when to want it, or how to want it. If you love Yang, then love her. Forget about what some dried up old husk of a woman shouts at you.”

“Goodness,” Weiss breathed in slight shock at the insult. “Those really _are_ sour grapes, aren’t they?”

“A bit. But don’t worry about Raven’s unrequited feelings from the pages of history. That’s not what matters right now.”

“So it’s really okay?” Something in her was desperate to believe Kali’s words, to trust her. Even though she had known her even less time than she knew Yang, she wanted to put her faith in _someone_ again. “To… to try this relationship even if everyone else thinks it’s a mistake?”

“Not _everyone,”_ she whispered with a fond smile. Her hand cupped Weiss’s cheek. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re a real catch.”

“Are you going to start chasing me around the car like you did around the kitchen?” But Kali only laughed, so she smiled. “No… I don’t think you ever meant any of that. You just wanted to trick me into admitting my feelings to Yang, didn’t you?”

One of her amber eyes winked. “A little of both. But I mostly want you to have your heart’s desire, Weiss. We both know who that is. Just don’t let your desire to make everyone happy keep you from making _yourself_ happy. You and Yang fit together really well; I’ve witnessed it first-hand. Don’t fret over the details.”

“Well… okay.” They exchanged a smile, even if Weiss’s was a little more nervous. “But how am I supposed to do that if neither of us can even go to the other one’s house?”

“I’ll keep working on Raven,” she sighed. “I think I was getting her to admit that the house wouldn’t literally _crumble_ if she let you stop by now and then. Especially if I promised not to come back,” she added in a quiet murmur.

As she was escorted toward the car, Weiss asked, “Oh? Was this after I left?”

“It was. And I checked in with Yang very briefly, told her not to push herself, and saw that she had eaten a little of her soup. Honestly, I think Raven isn’t as bad as you feared. Not an ideal parent, but…”

Her arms folded over her chest as she slid into the passenger’s seat. “She hit her! I don’t care why, she still hit her. That’s not acceptable.”

“Oh, I agree with you; I even felt sick on the rare occasion I had to spank Blake’s behind, much less ever do anything worse. No parent should ever cause their own child physical harm. But… Yang isn’t my child, and it’s hard for me to pass judgment. Lord knows enough people could tell me I’m a monster for letting my girl follow me into the Dragons.”

“You’re not a monster!” Her hand flashed over to perch on Kali’s forearm. “You’re… a really nice woman, a-and I’m lucky to know you!”

That earned her a soft smile. “You really are. And you could know me better if you play your cards right…”

Rolling her eyes, she retrieved her hand and sat back again. “So when do I get the reading material?”

“The what?”

“Well, clearly all the Dragons have learned the same list of terrible come-ons. There has to be a book.”

That got Kali laughing so hard she almost ran a stop sign. At least it elevated their dreary mood, if nothing else.

* * *

By the time Kali and Pyrrha made the “exchange” and she was on her way back to Atlas Heights, the poor little rich girl felt at least vaguely better about the situation. Sure, nothing had been truly solved, but her fleeting crisis of faith had passed. She wanted to do whatever was best for Yang. If that meant leaving her, she would, but Kali’s words went a long way toward reassuring her that Yang needed her as much as she needed Yang. If that was true, then all that was left was to find a way to be together that wouldn’t destroy their entire microcosm.

“You’re sure you are alright?” Pyrrha asked as she took back the makeup puff.

“Yes.” Weiss checked herself yet again in the mirror; the heavy makeup would no doubt be obvious to her father, but it covered the light scratches she’d received while spelunking into the sinkhole. “Anything else?”

“The jacket,” she chuckled. Weiss smiled sheepishly and shrugged out of it. “That’s becoming a second skin. I didn’t think you liked it so much.”

As she stashed it, she said, “I do. It’s warm and comfortable. Even though the giant dragon on the back is ornamental, it’s very functional otherwise.” Then she sighed and smiled at her. “Thank you again for your help. I’m sorry to have to keep asking this of you when it’s-”

“I’m fine,” she laughed with an easy smile. “Though I worry about you running around with those women, I know now they aren’t… _quite_ as bad as they seem. And if you and Yang are truly in love, I don’t think anything should stand in your way.”

“You and Kali both.” They shared a grin. “Alright, I’ll take up less of your day. Thanks again.”

Even as Weiss was getting out to walk down the street, Pyrrha yelled, “It’s fine! Don’t worry!” It only made her smile wider.

When she walked into the house, luckily no one was in the near vicinity. She was worried they would all be waiting for her in the living room again, since the sun was going down and it was getting too late to be out. Therefore, she was able to slip up to her room and quickly change into a dress her father found more “dignified for a young lady”, as he always put it on the rare occasions she wore any type of slacks.

The instant she emerged from her room, she was startled to see Whitley standing there. His smile was a sly as a fox's, as usual, but she decided to ignore him and keep walking.

“You missed dinner, dear sister.”

“Have I?” Though she didn't much feel like it, her smile was sweet. “I've already eaten while I was out with Pyrrha.”

“Indeed. Probably nothing but ice cream.” His airy sigh was so similar to their father's that Weiss could barely suppress a giggle. But she did and made her way into the drawing room.

And froze just inside the door.

“Ahhhh, there you are,” Jacques Schnee announced as he turned his head very slightly from where he had been gazing out the window. Her mother was slumped on the floor, one shoe off and one shoe on, gazing into nothingness. She honestly couldn't tell if he had struck her or if she had simply fallen because she was too inebriated to stay on the chaise lounge.

“Father.”

“Weiss.” Smile tight, he fully faced her, hands in the small of his back. “How was your day?”

The question caught her a little off guard. Since when did her father care about her days? “Umm… just fine. How about yours?”

“Oh, I've had better. For instance, I much prefer days on which I don't have to confront my upstart of a daughter about her constant lying to this family.”

“What?” The dread that began to pool in the bottom of her stomach was strong, but she tried to keep the reactions from creeping into her face. It wouldn't do to show weakness.

“I've just had a talk with Captain Ironwood,” he went on as he rolled a white-gloved hand in the air, embellishing with gesture as much as he did with word choice. “He told me a very interesting tale. Seems he thought it rather strange that a delightful young girl like Miss Nikos should spend almost her entire afternoon all alone in Vytal Park, _reading_ instead of enjoying the company of gentlemen callers. It struck him as odd after the first few times he spotted her there on his rounds.”

Her alibi was gone. This was a distressing development indeed! What else could she say she was doing? To give herself time to think, she answered, “Isn't it good for a young girl to enrich her mind? What's so wrong with reading?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing. However, it does raise the question… where have you been all day instead of the usual haunts?”

“I've… made another friend recently. Ruby Rose?” Maybe Ruby wouldn't be so keen to lie for her, but it was the only thing she could think of offhand. Hopefully she would have time to ask her on the following school day. “Of course, Pyrrha knows her, but she wanted some quiet time today. And far be it from me to force her to come along!”

Her father was nodding, as if he had accepted everything she said. But she knew better than to believe that. “Yes, I see. Ruby Rose, is it? That's very… convenient. A brand new friend whom I've never heard of before.”

“I'm sorry, Father, but I don't know what you-”

“How stupid do you really think I am?” he hissed at her in a dangerous tone, eyes flashing now to betray the true fury that had been hiding beneath the mask of calm all along. “As If there really is such a person! You've been out seeing that Chinese girl again, haven't you?”

After a long pause, Weiss somehow found the courage within herself to say, “I thought this would make you happy. After all, you already think I'm doing some kind of unpleasant thing with Pyrrha, though I'm really not sure what. Isn't it good that we didn't spend all day together?”

“Don't act so smug and innocent. Perhaps you weren't doing any such thing with the Nikos girl; I don't truly believe it, but I'm willing to entertain the notion. But we both know you're still sneaking around behind our backs, and that is simply unacceptable.”

“Father, please,” she attempted in a pleading tone, taking a few steps closer to her parents. Not that her mother was responsive at all; she didn't even seem to be aware that anyone else had entered the room. “I'm absolutely fine. I promise! There's no need to worry about me so much.”

Her hope had been that framing things in that manner would perhaps soothe his ego, making him think that his concerns actually mattered to her. That hope was dashed when he jerked her roughly forward by the shoulder so they could stare directly into each other's eyes.

“You're still lying to me. Can you even tell when you're lying anymore? Just admit it: you're doing immoral things with one of those girls. Maybe with _all_ of them.”

“What?” she gasped, but her shock was so fake that she didn't even believe it herself. “Father, I- where is this coming from? What kinds of immoral things?”

His chuckle was so cruel that she flinched away from it. “Oh, good try, you little minx. Fantastic. But I'm not playing games with you anymore. Bend over this chaise lounge.”

Suddenly, her blood ran cold. _“Excuse_ me?”

“You're acting like a child, and I'm about to treat you like a child. If you can't own up to your mistakes like an adult then you don't deserve anything less.” As he spoke, he began to take off his belt.

“Father! I'm a woman, and I'm eighteen years old! Y-you can't-”

“Do as I say, young lady!”

For a fleeting moment, she looked toward her mother for some kind of support, for _any_ kind. At least recognition that she was listening and she cared. No such support came. Turning back toward him, she stood defiantly and said, “No.”

“You will do as I-”

“No, Father. You can punish me all you like - forbid me to see my friends, tell me I'm doing all these terrible things that I'm not doing… even call me awful names. But I'm through letting you strike me anymore.”

It had been a mistake. She could feel it in her bones, even before the belt lashed across the side of her face. An accompanying sting told her that it had broken the skin. Weiss only had a moment to stare up at him in sheer horror before he was speaking again.

“I wasn't _asking_ you to do it, you ungrateful tramp,” he snarled as he grabbed her by the hair and forced her to bend over the furniture. Unfortunately for Weiss, the man was stronger than he looked. “I did not want to do this, but you have forced my hand. If you won't let me help you expunge your inner demons, I'll _beat_ them out of you!”

The hand reared back, and Wiss felt her entire body clench. This couldn’t be happening. She wanted to run away, but the hand in her hair kept her held fast; she was frozen in this terrible moment with her father about to lash her with a leather strap. Was there no justice left in the world?

“HELP!” she couldn’t resist shouting. Maybe Whitley would surprise her by doing something. Maybe a neighbour would hear. Maybe-

The loudness of the noise was almost worse than the pain itself. Hot shame flooded her face, and her breath stopped fast. He was going to pay for this. That voice in the back of her mind somehow sounded like Yang; she tried to hold onto that. Tried to picture her sweet Yang, the noble Dragon she was weathering this mistreatment for.

Or was she? No. She was doing it for herself. Yang might be worth it, but this was not about their relationship. This was between her and her father, who couldn’t let his daughter be her own woman.

“Had enough?” he asked harshly. But Weiss couldn’t speak. He roughly shook her by the head. “WELL?!”

A weak voice from nearby breathed, “Stop… my little girl…”

“That’s enough out of you,” he snarled down at his wife. “If you weren’t such a disappointment, perhaps we both could have prevented this from ever happening!”

“But you shouldn’t…” Her voice faded. Weiss couldn’t even see her from that vantage point, but had a feeling she was still lying face down.

“I’ve given you everything,” Jacques snarled - before striking her across the backside again. This time, Weiss let out a brief yip of pure agony, then sucked in a shuddering, snivelling breath. “And you repay me by throwing it all away! Do you think I haven’t heard of the Dragons? That no one else has heard about the drag race that took place in the ruins of Mountain Glenn? No one has seen you driving around with some black-haired woman? Who is she, Weiss?”

“F-Father, I… I c-can’t-”

“ANSWER!” Another slap of the strap, and Weiss felt she might wet herself again but she was determined not to give into that urge. She would be stronger. The first two lashes had been so shocking she couldn’t even separate the sting itself from the added pain of it on the healing scar; he was going to open the skin again, when it had finally started to heal over!

“_Stop!_ I don’t w-want this! Stop it, please!”

His arm reared back; she felt the movements. This strike was going to be even harder. “Then tell me.”

“NO! I’M DONE LISTENING TO YOU!”

“Fine.” The arm rocketed down-

And never connected. There was a long moment in which Weiss sniffled and sobbed, clawing at the fabric of the chaise lounge as if she really had been struck. Then she slowly ceased as it sank in that nothing was happening. Turning around seemed to take forever, especially with the fist clenched around her ponytail, but she eventually managed.

Willow Schnee had never looked so furious in her life. The look matched that of her husband, who was both glaring and looking incensed at this sudden betrayal. Her arm was extended over her head from her kneeling position, hand closed around his forearm to keep the next blow from landing.

“Well,” he breathed, to give himself a moment to find his words. Then he snarled, “Look who’s awake.”

“I’ve been awake this whole time,” she snapped at him, slowly pushing to her feet. “You made an assumption, and that assumption was wrong.”

His brow knitted as he also stood, trying to keep her from gaining the upper hand. “What?”

“You probably don’t even remember striking her a couple of weeks ago. You promised me- no.” She shook her head so hard the messy silvery bun at the nape of her neck bobbed back and forth. “You promised _all_ of us that it would never happen again. She came to me to complain, and I was deep into the wine the way I… I have been all too often.”

“Mommy?” Weiss breathed in sheer disbelief. She could hardly believe this was the same woman!

“This is absurd,” he snapped back. “We have a delinquent daughter, Willow. You have the audacity to hold me to that old standard when I’m struggling to keep her from-”

“So when she came to me, wanting to cry and be supported but seeing me so pathetic…” Her head shook again, eyes closed as she suppressed her own self-hatred before glaring at him again. “The entire next morning, I thought about taking my own life, Jacques. Ending it all. I never meant to become like this, and I wanted to forget what you’ve done to _me_. Still, I knew if I did that, if I died… I couldn’t be there for my girls ever again. To protect them. You did this to Winter, too, when she declared she wasn’t interested in the family business - and she was strong enough to push back. Weiss has always been more delicate, and you _still_ treat her like this?”

Even through wincing at the slight jab at her character, Weiss saw that her father was starting to back down, though he would not entirely. “Well, well. Isn’t this lovely! You’ve been lying, too - lying about being your usual saturated self. Spying on me. That’s the trouble with women, isn’t it? Never can tell when they’re being honest with you. Maybe they simply aren’t capable.”

“Spying on you,” she affirmed through clenched teeth. “I shouldn’t have to! I shouldn’t have to fill wine bottles with grape juice just to fool you into underestimating me – to ensure you’re not abusing our daughter! Well… you’re not going to hurt _any_ of them anymore. Put the belt away, Jacques.”

“I’ve had enough,” he said in a low, dangerous tone, eyes still flinty and hard. He jerked his forearm but she didn’t let go, so he began to shove and tug until she did - but she stumbled into him, and he reacted instinctively, pushing her to the floor.

“Mommy!” Weiss gasped, heart lurching as she watched her poor mother sprawl out on the oriental rug.

“Look what you’ve done now. Look where you are! Do you feel proud of yourself, Willow? Glad that we’ve come to this point, all because you couldn’t handle rearing our daughters to be fine young women, instead of… of cross-dressers and _freaks?!”_

Cross-dressers? Did he mean because Weiss occasionally wore trousers? Or because Winter was in the Women’s Army Corps?

Glaring up at him with twin daggers for eyes, her mother snarled, “Go to hell.”

His arm reared back to strike his own wife. It had been a long time since he did that, as well - but the situation with the Dragons seemed to be pushing him past his breaking point. For a brief instant, Weiss felt responsible. She wished she hadn’t ever talked to Yang. Wished she could be a perfect little girl, so Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t fight anymore. Wished her sister was here, so she could have someone on their side - or Kali, or anyone at all so she wouldn’t feel so scared.

But the first crack of leather on the skin of her mother’s raised forearm, her yelp of pain, snapped her out of the reverie. Rushing forward, she wrapped her arms around his, screaming, “Stop! You can’t!”

“I’ll do whatever I want to you traitors!” he bellowed, incensed. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to reach the arm with the strap in it, so he was easily able to lash her across her side. There was nothing else she could think to do but sink her teeth into his wrist. “AH! Traitors and animals! You’re insane! Well so be it!”

This time, when he pushed her to the floor, it was with intent. Weiss felt real terror gaping up at the towering figure, his shoe pushing into the center of her chest. This was really going to hurt. The belt dangled from his hands as he took aim, tried to figure out how to crack it like a whip _just right_ so that it reached her skin.

“I’ll teach you a lesson you will never… _ever_ forget again.”

Those were the last words he was able to get out before Willow brought an expensive vase down upon the crown of his head. The shattering of pottery was loud enough to echo through the entire house, and probably outside. As he sagged, she was just able to see the blood begin to drip down his face before he crumpled completely, sprawling on top of her.

He was right about one thing: that moment of terror, being pinned beneath her bleeding father who had been seconds from delivering painful punishment to her face, definitely taught her an unforgettable lesson. “Never trust a man again” probably wasn’t the lesson he intended, but it was the effect nonetheless.

Then her mother was heaving him off her, weaving weakly for a moment as she tried to regain her breath. She looked at Weiss, the pure adrenaline slowly giving way to worry. “Oh, Weiss… oh, my poor baby…”

“Mommy?” she whimpered, shaking all over. She couldn’t even bring herself to cry; she just felt numb. Too much had happened, and she didn’t understand everything quite yet. But then something else pushed through the fog. “Mommy, it’s really you!”

“Yes, honey! Oh…” Wrapping her arms around Weiss and pulling her to a sitting position, she whispered, “I’m so sorry. I’m so, _so_ sorry it took me so long… I don’t know what was wrong with me. I’m so sorry!”

They were quiet for a long minute or two, trembling and clutching at each other as if they were the last two humans in the world. Despite the terror that still thundered in her heart, she couldn’t erase the gratitude. _Her mother had returned to her._ After so many years, sure that she would never come back from the grip of alcohol, she was here; they were together again.

Then they heard a sound from the doorway. Turning to look, they saw Whitley standing there with sheer shock in his features. “What… what have you done, Weiss?”

“Whitley… I…” She had no idea how to handle this situation.

“I’m calling the police!” he yelped, scampering away. Her mother moved as if to follow, but she trembled and fell again, clutching her head.

“Mommy? Are you okay?”

“No…” Clearing her throat, she pushed a hand into her eyes. “My head hurts. It’s… it’s been that way since I stopped drinking. I get headaches all the time now. They’re getting a little better day by day, but it’s still not… I can’t even remember what it was like to have a clear head.”

“When did you stop? I don’t…”

“It was the next day after he hit you.” Swallowing hard, she forced her eyes up to look at Weiss again, powerful shame flooding back into her face. Without the anger at her husband to mask it, Weiss could see just how deep it ran, and she had to look away rather than witness her mother in such a state. “I had been thinking so hard already about why I couldn’t stop him. Silly as it is, that confused me. Why couldn’t I lift a finger if I loved my girls? What kind of mother was I? And that day, when I poured myself another glass of wine, it all kind of… I don’t know. Fell onto me at once. I _needed_ that drink to help me forget my failure, but it was the _cause_ of my failure. I tried to drink it, a-and the wine tasted disgusting to me for the first time in years, so I spat it out, and… I didn’t know what else to do. Jacques asked why I did that, and I…”

Weiss sat up a little straighter, petting her hand up and down her back. “It’s okay. Just… just tell me.”

“I don’t want you to hate me,” she whispered fearfully, eyes turning to the corner. “You should. But I don’t want you to. I sound so _selfish…”_

“Please, I can’t! I can’t hate my mother! Tell me what he did, I… or what you did, all of it. I need to know.”

“Alright.” Swallowing hard, she whispered, “I lied. I told him I thought a bug got into the wine, and he said to try it again. With him watching, I had to finish the glass, and it tasted better, of course… but I resolved that it would be my last. I had to think of something.”

“So… you filled it with grape juice? I heard you say something like that.”

Her lips twitched into a weak smile - or something like a mockery of one. “Yes. Some ‘great scheme’ of mine. The local church helped me, actually; I carted off a bunch of wine to them, and told the priest in confidence that I wanted help to wean myself off the spirits. He agreed to help fill them with juice and cork them, so I could indulge in the _ritual_ of drinking until I didn’t need it anymore. I… I would feel bad for lying to him, too, except it wasn’t untrue. Just wasn’t the main motivation.”

“Mommy, I love you,” she told her earnestly when she saw her face beginning to crumple again. “Please, can you hear me? I love you so much, I don’t hate you!”

“I hear you, Weiss,” she said with an easy laugh, even while tears slipped down her face. “I always heard you. Sometimes, I just couldn’t reply… or couldn’t remember what you said in the morning. But I’m sorry you ever thought I was ignoring you. I’m such an awful woman…”

Shaking her head violently, she clutched at her so tightly she was worried about hurting her. “No, I’m an awful daughter! I’ve been doing… d-doing so many bad things! Daddy was so mad!”

“Shhhh, shh. It’s alright. You aren’t an awful daughter, not at all.” There was a slight hesitation as they embraced. Then she forced herself to say, “Even if… the things your father has been saying… even if they _are_ true.”

“What kind of things?”

“About you becoming friends with the Chinese girl. That she’s an opium fiend and might be- well, I shouldn’t like to repeat improper things.”

In that moment, all she wanted was to let them have this sweet reunion. To enjoy being in her mother’s arms again. But the truth slipped out; she _needed_ someone to tell her she wasn’t an awful daughter. “I’m in love with her. I know it might be sinful, but it doesn’t feel like sin to me! I just… j-just want to be part of her life, and her a part of mine! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m so terrible!”

“Shhh,” she repeated, a little more desperately now. “It’s alright. We’ll figure out everything later. I’m sorry, I wanted to be there for you, but I couldn’t when… with my…” Her voice broke as she said, “I’m so weak! I was so weak for so long, and I let him hurt me, and you, and Winter and Whitley, a-and I… and I didn’t know wh-what to…”

Again, she was overcome with the sensation of having to take care of her mother, as if their roles were reversed. But at least she was herself again. She was _trying_. That was all Weiss could ask for, and all she had wanted for years. Maybe they could try together from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of mothers and daughters in this chap. Sorry it was so raw but it's been building for a long time. Next chapter will be dealing with a lot of fallout but will at least be MUCH brighter. See you soon guys, stay safe out there!


	21. Chapter 21

**=Chapter 21**

Once the police came, they took one look at the situation and sided with the two women. Though they could serve as a terrible reminder for the rest of their lives, the bloody welts on their faces and arms provided explicitly clear evidence that they had not attacked the man of the house without provocation. Whitley looked shocked and saddened to find out he might actually have been mistaken in his estimation of the situation, and retreated into his room once the officers were through questioning him.

By the time they were wrapping up the scene, carting Jacques off in an ambulance with handcuffs binding him to the stretcher, Pyrrha had shown up out of nowhere. Of course, it wasn’t truly _out of nowhere;_ the presence of police vehicles with their sirens wailing had drawn the attention of quite a few people in the neighbourhood. Weiss could tell her mother was embarrassed at all of the attention, even on top of her behaviour for the past several years of their lives and the truly awful experience of confronting her husband’s true nature.

“It’s good to see you looking more yourself again,” Pyrrha finally breathed as she embraced Mrs. Schnee gently, as if worried she might break her.

“You, too,” she said with a weary smile. “I’ve missed your face around the house. And I’m… I can’t even begin to-”

“Mother had a problem,” Weiss interrupted. “And she’s working on it. That’s all.”

Though the elder woman looked even more ashamed of herself, Pyrrha let out a sigh before smiling and patting her forearm. “Well, that’s all we can do, isn’t it? Work on our problems. I have faith in you.”

While tears were streaming down her face again, Weiss steered her into the living room and sat her down in a chair. She could tell she needed a moment, so she slipped back out the front door again to talk to her friend.

“I don’t know what to think,” she whispered, staring down at the ground. “She’s… this is really hard on her. And you were right about my father. Somehow, I just thought if I kept ignoring the problem, it would go away - and Salem was counting on me to-”

“Shhh.” Her index finger rested against Weiss’s lips just long enough to silence her before she dropped it. “Take a moment to breathe. I know…” She shook her head for a moment. “You’re really in a pickle, Weiss.”

“What am I supposed to do? I’ve lost my father, my mother is barely holding it together… Yang’s mother hates me. I’ve made a choice to stand by my gal no matter what, but that doesn’t mean everything is about to magically get easy.”

Pyrrha tapped her chin for a moment. Then she straightened and said, “Salem.”

“What?”

“Let’s ask Salem. I believe she would be understanding of your… problems. Besides, you have to tell her about losing your ‘in’ with your father.”

Though she didn’t want to admit it, she knew Pyrrha was right. Salem may have terrified her but it was unwise to sit around, waiting for the High Dragon to find out from someone else. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly before saying, “I suppose I’ll need to ask you for a ride? Although I could probably borrow my father’s car at this point; I doubt he’ll be needing it soon.”

“I’ll drive you,” she chuckled. “We shouldn’t have to risk you getting in trouble for stealing a whole car. What about your mother, though?”

“Oh… go and get your wheels. I’ll be right back.”

Her mother hadn’t moved, other than to curl in on herself again. Weiss knelt at her side, taking her hand between both of her own. “Mommy?”

“Yes?” she sobbed.

“I’m going out now. I… well, there’s something I have to do. With the Dragons. I know you probably hate that I’m-”

“Go on. Don’t worry about me.”

“Of course I’ll worry about you! I just… need to do this. Will you be alright until I get back?”

After a brief pause, she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yes. As long as you do me one favour.” It cost her a lot to continue. “Go… into the cabinet under the sink and throw away the bottle of bleach all the way in the back. Take it with you and dump it out somewhere, or… or just make sure it’s gone.”

“What?” she asked, completely confused. “Why would I need to do that?”

“Because it’s filled with wine. It’s… I hid it there, because I’m weak… I’m so weak!”

A fresh sob erupted as she pushed her hand into her mouth again. Weiss could understand; if the whole reason her mother had become a wino was because she was upset about their family situation, then she might not be able to resist on a night like this. She was reaching out for help, acknowledging her own limitations. Standing up, she pressed a kiss into her cheek.

“I love you. I’ll take care of it. And… a-and this isn’t forever! You’ll… Pyrrha’s right, you just…”

It seemed they were both out of words. But unlike other times in the past years, Willow reached up and ran her fingers through Weiss’s hair, smiling at her. Really seeing her instead of looking through her at the demons.

“I love you, too, my little angel. See you soon.”

* * *

Again, Weiss felt awful for lying to someone. This time, it was a small lie.

“Maybe… you should slow down on that,” Pyrrha said in mild alarm as she watched Weiss tip the bleach bottle back again, swigging down the bitter red liquid.

“I’ll stop after this,” she gasped, capping it just as she had promised. “But… Salem scares me. My brand hurts right now from having it smacked with a belt, so I _definitely_ can’t forget how scary the last time was.”

“But you sat with her waiting for Yang, didn’t you?”

Shrugging, she put the wine under her arm as Pyrrha pulled into the lot behind Shopkeeper’s. “We didn’t speak. And she still wore that big cloak. Why do you think she does that? Why is she so, so… shadowy?” But knowing her friend would have no answers, she sighed and smiled weakly. “Thank you for being such a good friend. Maybe… maybe after this, I’ll get my own motorcycle. Start taking care of my own transportation. And then you won’t have to be my chauffeur, which isn’t fair, and it isn’t-”

“I’m happy to do it,” she reassured her with a wide smile. “You’re in an impossible situation, and doing the best you can. Don’t worry about me.”

The corner of her mouth twitched up a little higher. “My mother said the same thing. Not to worry about her, I mean. I have so many selfless people in my life.” Her hand reached over to take up Pyrrha’s. “Come in with me. You know Cinder will be happy to see you.”

“Oh, _please,_” she tittered, rolling her eyes. Her cheeks did pinken, but Weiss was reasonably sure it was just all the attention; she was still fixated on that blonde boy from her class. Still, she did get out of the car and enter the den of sin.

By the look of all the girls in the restaurant, no one had heard what happened. Either that, or they didn’t care; most of them were relatively unconcerned with Weiss and barely knew her. Only the girls from the high school lit up when they saw her approaching their corner.

“Hey, hero,” Coco said with a huge grin. “Dove right in to get Yang patched up. Not bad, not bad.”

“Maybe we were wrong about you,” Cinder conceded, her manner more reserved as she inspected her fingernails. _“Maybe._ But I’m fairly sure I’m right about this tall drink of water.”

With a nervous little laugh, Pyrrha waved briefly to her. “Hello, again. We’re actually here because Weiss has some news for Salem. Is she in?”

Inwardly, Weiss felt herself cringe at the way she put that - as if this were some kind of impromptu doctor’s visit. But none of the others seemed to feel the same. Emerald immediately said, “She’s back there, yeah. But she’s in with, um, a client.”

Suddenly, Pyrrha’s question didn’t sound so out of place.

“Wait with us,” Cinder encouraged in a velvety smooth voice, looping an arm around Pyrrha’s back and leading her to the table. Weiss had to suppress an annoyed sigh or a stern comment, but her friend could handle herself. “I’m sure you have some fascinating stories that I’d love to hear.”

Even while Emerald was rolling her eyes, Pyrrha was allowing herself to be seated. Meanwhile, Velvet approached timidly and gave her a quick little hug.

“That was a brave thing you did for Yang, and that boy. Quite brave.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said with an awkward smile. “Are Kali and Blake here?”

“No, sorry.”

“Damn,” she sighed, folding her arms over her chest and staring anxiously at the door that would lead to her fate, whatever it may turn out to be. “I was hoping for some support.”

“What do you mean? We can support you!”

Wincing at how that ended up coming across, and at the earnestness in Velvet’s fair features, Weiss flashed her a pained smile. “Oh… no, I didn’t- well, it’s only… Blake and her mother have become close friends of mine. Especially Kali, with how supportive she is, and always, well, _mothering!_ So… it’s nothing against you and the rest of the Dragons, of course. But you know how Cinder and Emerald and those others can be sometimes.”

“Yeah,” she said with a clearly nervous laugh. “I do.”

That brought back a memory. “What did happen between you and Cinder? I’m almost afraid to ask, but…”

“Nothing worth mentioning, really. Coco loves to be dominant in the bedroom, and I can say the same about Blake to a much lesser degree. That’s fine! But Cinder… it’s a quite another level. She made me feel _awful_ \- like I was just an animal to her_._ A thing. And alright, she did apologise when I told her later that she made me cry, but she also seemed… irritated?” Her slight shoulders raised and lowered. Weiss noticed Cinder was watching them from her seat beside Pyrrha, but she was far enough away that she couldn’t hear a word over Fats Domino blasting out of the jukebox. “As if I ought to have known my own limits, told her in advance. Which I would have if I’d known how much rougher she was! But she didn’t _say_ that, and didn’t shout at me or argue. Just was irritated, as I said. Like a child who’s had their toy taken away because they’ve been a prat; she knew what she did wasn’t on and apologised, but didn’t like that she needed to.”

“Oh.”

“But she really isn’t a bad person,” Velvet said urgently, as if needing to make up for the character assassination. “Truly! Other than that incident, she’s been rather good to me, and agrees that my parents wanting to leave is tragic. And since her own family life is so… well, it is the way it is…”

Nodding, even though what she wanted to do was ask more about Cinder’s home life, Weiss reached up to pat her on the shoulder. This was more important right now. “I understand. Sorry for having to bring all that unpleasantness up again.”

“Oh, no worries,” she said with a wider smile, even if her eyes were still shadowed by melancholy. “That’s life.”

Weiss barely had enough time to drop the wine off with the bartender and head back over to chat with the girls for a minute or two before a man exited the back room. He must have been a Huntsman, because when Cinder and Emerald started booing he merely laughed and made a rude gesture at them, and they laughed, as well. Then Cinder hopped up and glided back there to check on Salem’s status.

“She’ll see you,” she called over to her, beckoning. “Don’t dawdle.”

Weiss wouldn’t have dared.

As usual, Salem was cloaked in shadow instead of her actual cloak, and smoke hung heavily on the air. Weiss didn’t wait for Cinder this time; she confidently strode to the booth and sat in the bench opposite the High Dragon, trying not to wince from her brand being shifted.

“Well?” Straight to business, apparently.

“My father has been arrested.”

“Oh?” she breathed in mild surprise. “Whatever for?”

“Domestic violence. He…”

Only now was Weiss tripped up. She didn’t want to describe what happened, or relive it. But she needed to find the best and most accurate way to retell the tale so Salem would be aware of the situation.

“It’s written on your face, little one. Literally.” A ghostly hand reached across the table and grasped her chin, thumb rubbing over the welt her father’s strike had left. Hard. It burned, but it was a pain she could weather easily - a lot more easily than the initial strike, or the feeling of betrayal it brought with it. “Did you get him back?”

“No. But my mother did. She smashed a vase over his head - a very expensive one, too.” When she saw Salem’s teeth glinting in the dark from her smile, she couldn’t suppress one of her own.

“Satisfying?”

“Yes. I wish it wasn’t - I wanted him to… be…”

“A father.” When Weiss nodded, she leaned back and sighed. “You still expect too much from men. They’re beasts, incapable of controlling themselves, and should be regarded as such. No matter. What will become of his control of Schnee Communications?”

Though she couldn’t quite agree with the way Salem saw men - her father was simply a bad apple, not a representative of _all_ of them - she knew pressing the point would be unwise. “Well… I’m not sure. There’s only been enough time for me to ask him to look into hiring Mr. Scarlatina; I didn’t think… well, he found me out way too soon, and he lost it. I couldn’t get him to believe I didn’t know what he was talking about, he just… _needed_ me to be a bad child.”

“Your acting skills leave something to be desired, then.” She considered while Weiss tried to ignore the flicker of fear in her stomach. “Not your fault. You’re a babe in the woods, and you have done well so far; saving my warlord, restoring peace between us and the Huntsmen. And we can’t always predict how animals will behave.”

Something about that struck her. First, Velvet was saying Cinder treated her like an animal, and now, Salem was saying the same about the male gender as a whole. Perhaps the teenage Dragon was hanging around with her mentor a little _too_ often.

“Cinder?” The girl approached and dipped her head slightly. “The phone.”

From a neighbouring booth, Cinder retrieved a black telephone with a longish cord, setting it in front of her boss. Salem picked up the receiver and began to spin the dial. “My Duchess seems to be the best one for this job; that business acumen of hers. Ah - Kali?” A brief pause. “I’ll need you to pick up the little Schnee and take her home. And once you get there…”

* * *

In very little time at all, Weiss and her surrogate mother were riding through Vale in her Ford, on their way to speak to her _real_ mother. Though Weiss felt guilty about leaving Pyrrha to head home on her own, she privately thought it was smart they didn’t stay much longer; she looked a little green around the gills from having to rebuff so many of Cinder’s advances. The only one who looked greener was Emerald - with envy rather than nausea.

“Mother?” she called out as they entered. “Are you still here?” No response. The living room was empty, so she gestured for Kali to enter.

“It’s a lovely home,” she remarked easily. In preparation for this meeting, she had donned another lovely dress fit for any homemaker, quite modest with its high neck and capped sleeves but very becoming on her figure. The little peep-toe window at the tips of her black heels were the only flirty accent that reassured Weiss no one else had forced her into the outfit against her will.

“Thank you. Will you wait here for a moment, please?”

“Of course.” The tone was overly gentle, coddling. She had been using it ever since Salem explained why Weiss needed a ride, and the reality of her situation. It was maddening, but at the same time, she appreciated having friends who truly gave a damn about her safety and wellbeing.

To her surprise, her mother wasn’t in the drawing room or her bedroom. She was in _her_ room, standing with a handkerchief pressed to her mouth and gazing around at the surroundings.

“Mother?”

“Oh,” she breathed in mild surprise, a watery smile springing up. “I’m sorry, Weiss. How are you?”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Fine.” After a moment, she shook her head, sinking down onto the corner of her bed. “And now… we’re lying to each other again. Old habits die hard.”

“I _am_ fine, though. Not great! Not… thrilled that my father is such a… a-”

“Say it.”

“An un-nice person.” When her mother laughed, she smiled slightly. “You know what I mean. But I have a feeling you’re worse off than I am, and today, I got my mother back, and… and I still have my friends. Especially now that I don’t have to hide them.”

The smile on her mother’s face faded. For the first time, she realised how _old_ she looked. Still beautiful for her age, but there were bags under her eyes, wrinkles at the corners and by her mouth. Being with Jacques had obviously aged her quite a bit.

“Your ‘friends’. I… might not have agreed with your father on how he handled the situation, but I agree that it should be handled. They aren’t the type of people I want you associating with.”

“Mother…”

“I won’t do what he did,” she told her firmly, holding up a hand to forestall her complaints. “That was… well, let’s not think about it. And I won’t forbid you to see them, but honey… can’t you enjoy your friendship with the Nikos girl more? It’s… _safer._ And I’m going to be a lot more worried now that I don’t have the wine to keep me from worrying anymore.”

Frowning, she sat down next to her mother, painfully aware that she was now wearing the jacket. Not hiding. “Sorry, Mommy. I really am sorry that… that the people I care about aren’t people you like. Or that _I_ would have liked before I got to know them. But I can’t turn my back on them now.”

“Can’t you? It’s easy. Your father seemed to have no problem doing so to us.”

“They aren’t those kinds of villains, and neither am I,” she replied harshly, and Willow flinched. “Sorry.”

“No, no… it’s alright. We need to start being honest with ourselves about what kind of man he was, or we… or the lies will only get worse. The ones we tell others, the ones we tell ourselves.” Her voice broke. “I let him hurt you too many times. More than once was too many. And I let him hurt me so much more, but I could tolerate that as long as he- as l-long as he d-didn’t-”

Weiss wrapped her in a tight hug, squeezing as hard as her arms could handle. She wanted nothing more than to march into the jailhouse and stomp on his head with Yang’s boots - or maybe borrow one of the girls’ heavy chains to really give him what for. But that would make her no better than him. She wouldn’t rule it out, but she would _try_ to be the better person.

“Don’t apologise anymore,” she whispered as softly as she could. “I love you, Mommy. Always have and always will. And… I don’t know what I would have done in your place, either. It’s hard; he’s your husband.”

“Not anymore.” The growl in her tone shocked Weiss a little, but it was also heartening.

“Good. I… I don’t know what we’re going to do now, but I agree with you.” Then she sat up straighter. “Oh!”

“What is it?” she asked, sniffling and wiping at her cheeks.

“There’s someone here to see you! And this is good because-” Pausing, she hopped up and began to pull at her mother’s hands to help her stand. “-because she’s one of the Dragons. But, well, she’s not _really_ a Dragon; she’s one of their moms, and cooks for them sometimes.” That may have been a little white lie, but it was more or less true, functionally. Other than the rumble, typically Kali was content to cook food and stay in the background. She could clear up the rest of her roles herself.

“A gangster cook?” They both exchanged a bemused smile, even if Willow’s was a bit watery. “Well, where is she? Downstairs?”

Her mother insisted on nipping into the bathroom to fix her face and hair before entertaining guests. Appearances had always been of utmost importance to the Schnees, after all, and she couldn’t expect her mother to change her spots entirely - not on the same _day_ as they ousted Jacques from their home, tentative as that was. Then they descended the stairs together.

Kali stood from the sofa where she had been waiting, and pressed a hand to her chest. “My goodness, look at these twin beauties gracing me with their presence! Such style, such grace!”

“Stop it,” Weiss laughed. But her mother seemed a little confused by the praise.

“I… I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” she confessed.

“Not at all,” she assured her as they arrived, reaching forward to take one of Willow’s hands and pressing it between her own. “Kali Belladonna. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Willow Schnee.” Then she shrugged, self-conscious. “I look like a wreck and I know it; crying for hours, and… can’t I get you something? Tea?”

Kali led her over to the sofa, pulling her down onto the middle cushion and taking one of the ends. Privately, Weiss noticed that she was sitting _very_ close to her, but it could just as easily have been because she wanted to comfort her as any untoward reasons. “There, there. You’ve had a terrible day; it’s not your fault, please don’t feel like you have to go to any trouble on my account.”

“Thank you,” she sighed wearily. “Ordinarily, I might put up a fight, but… thank you.”

“I must say, if I knew Weiss had such an attractive twin sister, I would have stopped by much earlier than today.”

“What? Oh,” she tutted, rolling her eyes. “Don’t try that flattery on me.”

“You mean you _aren’t_ sisters?” she said with a theatrical gasp. When her mother actually laughed quietly, she smiled. “But don’t worry, I’ll stop buttering you up if it actually does bother you.”

“It doesn’t. I just… I can’t feel very attractive right now. I _can’t._ Not after-”

“No, no, it’s fine. So! I’ll admit that my visit is not strictly an excuse to pay you compliments.” Barely glancing at Weiss as she seated herself on her mother’s opposite side, she went on, “This is a very tricky time. I’m going to have to ask you some difficult questions about your, erhm… financial situation, business. It’s not fun, but I’m hoping to help you and Weiss avoid having the rug pulled out from under you.”

The sudden topic change startled her. “What? I mean… I’m sorry, I don’t understand. I only take care of managing the bills in the house; my husband is in charge of the finances and our bank holdings.”

“Are they all in his name?” When she only blinked, Kali pressed, “Are _any_ of his shares in your name? Do you have a joint bank account?”

“Sorry again, but I don’t see what business it is of yours.”

Kali didn't even flinch. “It’s not. But do you want me to paint you a picture of what may happen if we don’t try to work on this immediately?”

“No, I don’t. But… I’m curious now.”

Taking that as permission, she went on, “Your husband is a first-time offender. We both know the law, the courts, always favour men - it’s just the way the system works. He looks repentant for striking his wife and child, says he was overworked, under a lot of stress. The judge herds you into court to testify, asks you if he’s done this before. Then he starts bringing up your drinking problem, and well… you’re faced with two choices. Either you leave him, and leave all of _his_ money, and wind up out in the street, or you go back to an abusive husband and suffer. Do those choices appeal to you?”

As horrified as Willow looked, so did Weiss on her other side. “Oh. I… no, be reasonable. He won’t get out - he struck me with a belt. He’s _never_ gone that far before.”

“Exactly; he’s never gone that far _before._” Weiss found herself dismayed at how much inflection could change a sentence. “That would make it quite easy for him to convince a judge he never will again, even though that’s exactly what he’s promised in the past about striking Weiss.”

“How much have you told this woman?” she demanded of her daughter, though she looked more stunned than upset.

“Enough, Mommy. I… I know it’s hard for you right now. It was hard for me, too! But I trust her. She helped protect me when Father made the Dragons think I ratted- I mean, sent the police after them. Which wasn’t a very nice thing to do when he knew I was friends with Yang.”

Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know. God, I don’t know what to do right now… I should be telling you never to see them again, but I know that wasn’t fair of him to ask. But I don’t want you getting hurt, either!”

“We won’t hurt Weiss,” Kali told her firmly - conveniently leaving out a certain initiation ceremony. “My Blake and her get along well, and that girl Yang is like a daughter to me, as well. We Dragons may not be ‘safe’, but we are loyal, and we protect our own - and that includes your Weiss now.”

“And me? You really would help me figure out how to… how to avoid living on the street simply because, what, Weiss is wearing your jacket?”

“I would for that alone. But I genuinely like her; she’s a sweet girl. Also…” Kali shrugged, wrapping an arm around the aggrieved woman’s back. “My Ghira was a good and decent man, and I miss him every day since he was K-I-A. I'd give anything to be reunited. For your husband to take advantage of you, to treat you like dirt when he’s lucky enough to still have a spouse as good and loving as you are… that’s simply disgraceful. I can’t let that go on, and if I can help you escape him, then I will. It’s my duty, woman to woman.”

The tears started fresh. Weiss expected them, and already had her handkerchief ready to offer. Kali simply held onto her as she cried, and Weiss took her hand up and patted it again, waiting for the emotional outpouring to pass.

“I’m n-not good,” she finally blubbered. “Or loving! I’m not!”

“You are,” Kali whispered softly, petting over her hair. “And it doesn’t matter right now, anyway. We just need to make a plan and make it work.”

A long sigh issued from her mother’s throat as he brought herself under control again. “Alright. I’m… I’ll try to help however I can. What must I do?”

“Nothing all at once. Find your husband’s business documents and we can get to work. And… you said your name was Willow?”

“Yes, Kali.”

Smiling at their shared memory skills, she kissed her cheek before standing up. “It’s going to be alright. One way or another, you have Dragons at your back now. We’ll get through this together.”

Vaguely flustered by the cheek-kiss, her mother stood to follow Kali upstairs to fetch important paperwork from her father’s den. Weiss remained downstairs, squinting suspiciously up the staircase at the two women. Maybe she shouldn’t be thinking it, especially after everything they had been through over the course of a single day. But she couldn’t help wondering…

‘_Did that just go the way I think it did?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's for all the Kali fans. Sorry for all the long stretches between chapters. Truth is I just don't have any motivation anymore; not just for writing. But whatever, life is dumb. See you all soon.


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